What is Soft is Strong
by tfry1440
Summary: The choice between personal vengeance or the greater good seems like an easy decision, but when the ones you love most die at the hands of monsters, can you really avoid becoming a monster yourself? Read on to find the answer to this question through old characters we love and treasure, and new characters whom we can't help but relate to.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, hello one and all! Welcome to my twisted story. As a forewarning, this story has some dark moments and may be a trigger to some people. I try to balance it out with some humor, but let me know how I do.

This story is set right after the events in Captain America: Civil War. Any characters you recognize do not belong to me (unfortunately).

This is not beta'ed, so any mistakes you notice I apologize for ahead of time.

One last thing, please let me know how you feel about the story as it progresses. Having feedback is really my sole motivation for continuing so the more you share with me, the faster my updates will be, scout's honor.

So that's it, away we go!

Chapter 1:

"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong."

 _-Lao-Tzu_

There was this silence that resonated over the city during the early hours of the morning, and this morning was no different. Boston was a lot of things, some good and others not so much, but it was at this hour, when the troubled slept soundly and the few that were awake could enjoy the tranquility the morning produced, that was sacred. As the sun crested over the horizon, the first rays of sunshine entered a small apartment deep in a small sector of Boston, known as Chinatown. They splayed across the face of an elderly Japanese man, lightly waking him up.

With a quiet groan, the man sat up and slowly swung his legs over the edge of the bed, quickly sliding his feet into a pair of slippers to ward off the cold of the fall morning air. After a few moments of preparation, the man was able to push himself up off the bed and begin his morning routine. He grabbed a worn cloth off his bedside table and made quick work of his long white hair, pulling it into a ponytail that rested low on his back. He took a comb and cautiously worked through his beard, lightly removing the knots and leaving it bright and shining. He then began his warm up for the day, stretching out his joints and muscles. As he moved, he threw furtive glances across the one bedroom apartment towards a piece of cloth hanging from the ceiling. Every so often, the cloth would move as the inhabitant behind it would shift in their sleep, an occasional grunt or groan accompanying the movements.

After a few more minutes of warming up, the man's ministrations came to a close, and as he finished he grabbed his robe off the bedpost and began shuffling his way over to the kitchen. He gently sat himself down at the table and sat in silence for a beat, his face changing from one of inner peace to slight annoyance and impatience. Eventually, his impatience won and his voice rang out, disrupting the silence that had settled over the apartment.

"Sui?"

Silence.

"Sui?"

"Uhhhhhhh?"

" _ **Sui?!**_ "

A loud thump resonated throughout the small apartment, followed by some mumbled expletives. The old man rolled his eyes as there were a few more seconds filled with rustling and grumbling before a woman pulled back the cloth acting as a door and stepped out into the chilled apartment, furiously attempting to tame her wild afro with a thick headband.

"You know, Masuta Haru, most people need to sleep. Matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say most of us actually LIKE sleep." She grouched as she made her way into the kitchen, pulling out a tea kettle and two mugs.

Masuta Haru humphed and folded his arms into his sleeves. "The poor sleep soundly, for sleeping people can't fall down."

The woman rolled her eyes as she replied, "It's too early for your proverbs, let a girl wake up before you start spouting your ancient Japanese wisdom." After placing a few tea leaves in the kettle the woman shuffled over to the sink and turned the water on. As the water pooled from the tap, it collected itself into a small ball, and when the ball reached the size Sui deemed acceptable, she used the edge of the kettle to switch the sink off, then stared at the ball for a few seconds, a crinkle in her brow forming as she concentrated. As the water heated up, steam began to rise, and after a few more seconds of this, Sui smiled in satisfaction and with a flick of her wrist, thrust the water into the kettle. Placing it next to the two mugs on a tray, she brought it over to the table.

As she positioned a mug in front of Master Haru, he answered, "Then let me give you one even your sleep deprived brain can comprehend: the early bird gets the worm."

Sui smirked as she filled her master's cup with piping hot tea, then proceeded to do the same for herself. "And if the bird doesn't want the worm?"

Haru took a sip of tea then regarded his student as she settled down in the chair across from him at the table. "Then the bird will starve and die a slow, agonizing death."

Sui's laughter filled the small apartment, and though Haru fought to keep a stoic expression, a small smile graced his face as he took another sip from his mug.

When Sui finally regained her composure, she grabbed her cup and took a large gulp of the now cooling liquid. "There you go again, Masuta Haru. Always taking things to the extreme. What'd you use to do, sky dive and drink moonshine for a living?"

They shared a brief affectionate look before Haru replaced his stern mask, cleared his throat and stood up. "Doesn't matter how I got this way, it woke you up didn't it? Now I want you to finish your tea, clean up, and begin your warm up. Today we are going to be sparring, and as punishment for sleeping in tonight, no use of your chi."

Sui opened her mouth to protest, but at one stern look from Haru, she closed her mouth and sighed in defeat. Haru smirked and shuffled back towards his bed, his ears picking up Sui's quiet admission, "Early bird gets the worm my ass. Early bird gets an ass kicking is more like it."

-PAGE BREAK-

"You know, I might be wrong, but isn't the practice of Ninjutsu NOT supposed to use sparring as a means of training?"

Sui let out a hiss of pain as she gently eased her body into the tub. After finishing her chores and warm up routine, Sui had cleared the center of the room and waited patiently for her teacher to be ready. Haru, woken from his meditation by his student's movement of the furniture, had meandered his way to the makeshift fighting arena. With a fully relaxed posture and his arms crossed in his sleeves, he quickly assessed their designated training area and nodded his approval. They both bowed low, and afterwards Sui had assumed a fighting stance, a look of nervous anticipation on her face. Haru smirked and then had uttered a simple word that began what any onlooker would define as pure chaos: "Begin."

Three hours later, Master Haru has returned to his meditation, adorning a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise fine. He cracks one eye open as Sui calls to him. Re-closing his eye, he smirked at his student and replied, "You forget, young one, you are learning MY version of Ninjutsu, and you will be nothing if not prepared for anything the world can throw at you, for when you're thirsty, it's too late to think about digging a well."

"One day I'm gonna find the book you keep stealing these from and tell the author you keep plagiarising his stuff." She began to take stock of her injuries, feeling where the aches in her body were originating from. Other than the small cuts she adjourned on her face, there were a plethora of bruises discoloring her arms and legs. But the most tender being the one on the left side of her torso where she had caught a nasty kick from Master Haru. For an old man, he sure knew how to kick ass, she thought, inwardly smiling.

Haru chuckled and replied, "If you are able to go back in time and find every single ancient Japanese ancestor who first uttered those words, I'll gladly give myself up. But until then, stop your blabbering and focus your chi. The earlier you get to the injuries-"

"The easier they are to heal. Yeah, yeah, yeah I know the drill." Sui closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in concentration. Soon thereafter, the water in the tub began to glow, and as time went on, the battle wounds she had sustained began to fade until her milk chocolate brown skin was back to its even pigment. Once done, she slumped back against the tub, tired but exhilarated.

She began to wash away the grime and sweat from the morning as she continued, "You know, Masuta, I almost had you there a few times. If I could've used my chi at just the right moment, I would've bested you."

Master Haru opened his eyes and glared across the room. "Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay it's price, and you were not fully willing to fight without your chi. I've told you this many times, now you know for sure. There will be times when you are too exhausted, or the situation you're in cannot allow for the use of your inner power, and so you must train for it."

Sighing, Sui nodded her acknowledgement and finished washing her body. Haru closed his eyes again as she stepped out of the tub, drying herself off with just a flick of her wrist. She grabbed the clothes hanging on a chair and quickly dressed before she walked and joined her teacher on his side of the room.

"I'm sorry, Master. I do not mean to offend, honest. I don't want you to think I don't listen to you and appreciate your teachings, I truly do. You saved my life all those years ago, and I will forever be indebted to you." She bowed deeply, missing the soft look of love Masuta Haru gave her. He opened his mouth to respond, then quickly sat up straighter and strained his ears listening for something.

"What is it?" Sui gave her master a confused look, before glancing around and perking her ears up as well. After a beat, a tiny creak came from above them. Most would pass it off for a bird perching, or the house settling, but the two knew better.

In a flash, they were moving. Haru kicked the headboard of his bed, a display of assorted knives appearing not a moment later. In one swoop he had them all in hand and was pocketing them in his robes as he went about creating some form of cover. Moving at a speed almost unheard of for someone his age, he flipped his bed and wedged himself between the bed frame and the wall, facing the only door into the apartment. Knives at the ready, he waited in anticipation for what he knew would take only moments to come bursting through the door.

At the same time, Sui had sprinted back to the bathroom section of the apartment, flipping the tub and collecting the water in the air as she jumped behind her newfound cover. Positioning herself properly, she was facing the only window in the apartment, thus the only other entrance into their home. She took a section of the water and spread it over the floor, just as the glass in the window shattered as three flashbangs in quick succession were thrown into the apartment.

Both teacher and student ducked and covered their eyes just in time to avoid being overtly disabled by the nonlethal grenades, training both had gone through allowing them to keep their control and focus on their respective weapons of choice. Not a full second later, soldiers came bursting through both entrances, and in no time at all havoc erupted.

Sui made quick work of the water she had placed on the floor, swiftly freezing it to remove the soldiers' footing. Simultaneously, she forged two whips with the water she still had hovering above her head. In brisk succession, she slashed the whips at each soldier's hands, viciously ripping their weapons away and scattering them around the apartment. Each squad member now had to make the choice between risking continuously falling over in a poor attempt to retrieve their weapons, or continue their shaky assault without one in hand.

As the attack carried on, many lost their right to decide as Haru's knives hit mark after mark. It seemed as if all of them had a homing beacon attached to them, each one finding the soft spots in the soldiers' armor.

Within seconds, the task force had lost half of their members, and appeared to be having second thoughts about attacking this seemingly outnumbered duo. That is, until an unheard order was called, forcing all surviving members to put their gas masks on and drop to the ground. Haru and Sui shared a look of recognition and moved to duck back behind their cover but it was of no use. Gas canisters were thrown into the room, the cloudy substance filling the air in seconds. Sui took one last breath of fresh air and held it. It took all her mental discipline to keep the water frozen on the floor and the water whips in her hands. She took a second to gather herself and strategize just how both her and Haru would be escaping from this room before they ran out of oxygen. She popped her head up with the intent of locating her teacher, and her heart stopped at what she found.

In the time it took for her to gather herself, the soldiers had regained their footing and were currently surrounding her cover, and with a tentative glance across the room, she found Haru in a similar situation.

"Drop the water, unfreeze the floor, and put your hands up before I put two in your skull." A gruff voice growled out to her right. She turned slowly to appraise her aggressor. Just by looking at him and how the men reacted to him, she could tell he was the leader of the crew. He towered over Sui's crouched frame, and as she appraised him, he lifted his gas mask off and glared right back. Between the scars, scruff, and tattoos littering his face, everything about this man exuded danger. She looked into his eyes, and inwardly shivered, for she had never seen such coldness in a human's eyes before. Temporarily, she contemplated just taking these men out, only the leader and two more actually had their weapons trained on her, and with a little maneuvering of their squadmates, she was sure she could make some human shields…

A grunt sounded from the other side of the room and Sui instantly dropped back into reality. Master Haru was also looking down the end of a barrel of a gun, and though he was a Master, there was only so much unarmed combat he could do before he would be gunned down. All at once, the fight left Sui, and as she put her hands up and rose to her full height, the ice on the floor melted and the whips fell to the ground with a splash.

With a triumphant smirk, the leader grabbed Sui's shoulder roughly and shoved his gun into her back, walking her to the center of the room, once a mock fighting arena, now a real battle ground; dead bodies littered the floor and seeped pools of blood that glinted in the daylight. The irony was not lost on Sui; it was a beautiful fall day in Boston, the sun was shining through the shattered window and she could just make out the oranges, yellows, and reds adjoining the trees outside. Yet all that beauty and sunshine only highlighted the carnage before her.

Haru was also roughly thrown into the center of the room, all the strength and ferocity he had so confidently displayed earlier was gone, and his body crumpled to floor, his clean robe saturated with blood in seconds. Sui made a noise of protest and went to go help her teacher only to be stopped by the cocking of a gun and a harsh yank of her hair.

"Take another step, and I kill the both of you." There was that voice again, like fingernails dragging down a blackboard. Oh how she'd like to make him eat those words. But protecting her masuta was and will always be first priority, so she kept her mouth shut and complied, watching Haru tenderly pick himself up with worried eyes. The leader beckoned to one of his lackeys with a gun to continue his vigil on Sui as he left to undoubtedly report to his superiors. She watched his movements critically just as Haru taught her; even when your opponent thinks you're beaten, watch for an opening, you never know when an opportunity might present itself.

"HQ, both targets are neutralized, requesting further instruction…" He turned around and regarded the scene in front of him, his gaze landing on Sui just a second longer as he listened to his ear piece. "Roger that. Will call with confirmation. Alpha out." He sighed as he strut back into the fray, taking his time to draw out what his next actions were going to be. As Sui's frustration grew, he worked his way over to where Haru had finally stood up. The leader gave her teacher a dismissive glance, then locked eyes with Sui, an evil grin growing on his face.

Too late, Sui realized what that meant. Panicking, her eyes locked with her master's, and his look of inner peace was destroyed as the leader pulled his weapon and shot Haru in the neck. Sui watched in horror as his body crumpled to the ground ,his blood mingling with the rest on the floor. She was only dimly aware of the movement around her. The leader pocketed his gun and strutted out of the apartment, contacting his superiors again to confirm the kill and request evac. Many of the remaining squad members grabbed their fallen brethren and followed his lead. But Sui could only focus on Haru. The gun in her back and the fist in her hair were the only tethers she had to remind herself of the dire situation she was in. As his life force slowly drained away, Sui watched in numb disbelief, the sounds of him suffocating on his own blood filled her ears. Second after second passed by, and the longer Haru struggled the more distraught Sui felt. At long last, his body gave up its fight, and with one final heave, he turned his head towards his student and Sui watched as the last of his life disappeared.

Sui froze, feeling pinned by the vacant look in his eyes. Those eyes that no matter what mood he was in or how much trouble and undue stress Sui caused, always held a warmth that could rival the sun's. But that warmth was gone, replaced by this emptiness that numbed her to the core. Her chi slowly dissipated, leaving her feeling hollow and incomplete, while her heart shattered into so many pieces it would take years to put it together again. She could feel herself sinking into this abyss, one that was clawing at her, pulling her down into its depths.

"Alright, get the bitch out here and up on the roof. ETA in five minutes." The leader's head appeared just long enough to bark his orders before he disappeared again, but it was enough. His voice brought Sui back from the abyss, snatching away her grief and replacing it with a boiling rage she had never experienced before. All at once her senses went from dulled to hyper aware, and her chi awakened with a vengeance. She could feel the water in everything, the pipes, the air, the plants, on the ground, and lastly, in the blood, both littered on the ground and within the soldiers left in the apartment.

Her vision was tinged in red, and her anger flowed into her chi, fueling it in preparation for the feat she was about to do. Mentally, she reached out to every last soldier left in the apartment. She followed the flow of their blood until it reached their hearts. As if her chi grew hands, she could feel herself enveloping the muscles, feeling the different beating patterns, taking the time to note their variety and difference in tempo. For a second, she stopped to consider what she was about to do, and how it went against everything Haru had taught her. Then, her eyes glanced down at her deceased teacher and all doubt fled her mind and nothing but rage filled her soul.

These men broke her heart irreplaceably, so it was only fair she returned the favor. Sui willed the blood within their hearts to obey her commands, and instantly her orders were answered. She felt their hearts constrict on themselves, then filling with blood, explode in their chests. Simultaneously all of her victims' bodies crumpled to the ground, blood spurting from their mouths, death coming swiftly and painfully. A grim look of satisfaction crossed her face as she surveyed her work, but as the macabre scene finally began to sink in, what was once satisfaction quickly turned into horror and shame. Tears filled her eyes as the exhaustion of her overworked chi and her emotional outburst combined and slammed into her, knocking her unconscious instantly.

Whoo, some heavy shit right off the bat, huh? Again, I apologize if this made anyone uncomfortable. But other than that slight unpleasantness, how'd I do? Please let me know if I should continue this story or if I should just drop my laptop in a lake and move to an isolated cabin far from civilization, never to show my face again. I have another chapter done already, but I won't upload it until I know people want me to continue. Thanks and have a great day!


	2. Chapter 2

Soooooooo I know I said I wouldn't upload until I got some reviews, but screw it, I like this story and plan to continue it. This chapter is a little long so if that's not your thing I'm sorry. I kinda just ran away with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, and again there may be some triggering things in here so you've been warned.

And without much further ado, away we go!

Chapter 2

"Cap, phone."

Steve Rogers tore his eyes away from his sketch and considered his friend, Sam Wilson. It's been weeks since Steve was able to break his friends, no his family, out of the submarine prison General Thaddeus Ross had them contained in. And though most of their physical wounds were faded, their psychological ones were still haunting them. Wanda had retreated within herself, a mere shell of the girl he used to know. And he knew that before they left, Scott and Clint were feeling the effects as well. Even know, as Sam tried to appear nonchalant, his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil, and Steve frowned. He's never felt so helpless in his life, but how do you save someone from themselves?

He quickly shook his head and tabled that thought for another day. "Who called?"

"It's Stark."

He didn't answer right away, shock settling on his features to hear his old friend's name again. Tony Stark was one of those very sensitive topic that all of the ex- Avengers tried to avoid. Though they knew he never meant for their imprisonment to be so horrendous, it was beyond difficult for many of them to disassociate his actions from their torture. And so he was never mentioned, until now.

Steve gave Sam a questioning look as he closed his sketch book and followed him out of the room. Sam shrugged and replied, "I don't know what he wants, he just said it's urgent and that he needs your help."

As they made their way down to King T'Challa's communication room, Steve nodded to the people he passed as they gave the both of them hellos accompanied with some smiles. At first, staying in Wakanda with his old rival seemed like a less than ideal situation, one that he had hoped would only be for a few days before arrangements could be made for everyone to leave. But then, Bucky said he wanted to go back under, said he didn't trust himself until there was a way to remove the brainwashing Hydra implanted within him. Steve didn't like it, but he could understand it and respected his wishes. His majesty was the epitome of graciousness, not only affording Bucky's holding cell 24/7 security, but also providing him with the best neurological scientists that money could buy, all trying to find a solution. Steve couldn't leave his friend, not now. And his friends refused to leave him, with the exception of Scott and Clint, who at the first available opportunity, returned to their families and began living their lives under the radar.

"Whatever it is has to be pretty bad for Tony to ask for my help. He wouldn't if he didn't have to."

Sam shrugged as they both ducked into the communication room and approached the main computer. T'Challa turned as he heard them approaching, and with a quick command, ordered everyone out of the room.

"I have a feeling this is a conversation not meant for prying ears." He offered as he swiftly began typing on the computer until Tony Stark's face appeared on the main screen.

"Hello Mr. Stark."

Tony looked down and offered a quick smile to T'Challa as he answered. "Hello your Majesty. I wish I had time to ask how things fare in Wakanda, but unfortunately this is not a social call and time is of the essence."

"What's going on, Tony?" Steve interjected.

Tony eyes shifted from the king to his friend. "They've captured someone, Steve. And by the looks of it, they don't just plan to hold her indefinitely. They're going to experiment on her." Tony paused and with a flick of his wrist, displayed undoubtedly hacked government files onto their computer screen. He continued talking as the three men digested the information as quickly as possible.

"What am I looking at?" Sam asked, trying to make sense of the complicated formulas.

"Mind control, Sam. They've created a complicated combination of serum and nanobytes that, once injected, renders the subject completely under their control."

Steve's hand balled into fists as uncontrollable rage coursed through his system. "This is too far, Tony. Ross has to be stopped."

"I 100% agree with you, Capsicle, I've been looking into their activities after... everything happened, and I will elaborate later but there is a more pressing problem at the moment."

"And what could take precedence over this?"

"Maybe the fact that all of these recent calculations are only geared towards one person, who happens to be the same woman they just seized?" Tony hit another button and the formulations were replaced by a profile of a woman. "To summarize, this is Taylor Johnson. She has the power to control and manipulate water molecules, and when I tell you seeing her in action is horrifying, I'm not kidding." He tapped another button and a video of the fight before her capture appeared on screen, surprise rendering all three men speechless as they watched her in action, cringing as they saw the old man being executed, and finally looking on with a nervous curiosity as they watched all the remaining soldiers collapse on the ground before she did.

"When was this taken?" T'Challa, a little trepidation creeping into his voice.

"About twenty minutes ago, they just loaded her on a chopper and are currently transporting her to the submarine prison as we speak. Steve, we have to break her out of there. No one deserves to have the control of their bodies and minds taken against their will." Steve tore his eyes away from the profile to share a meaningful look with Tony as the underlying meaning of that statement weighed on both of them.

Oblivious to the moment, Sam asked, "So what's the plan? Cuz no offense your highness, but you can't accompany us on this mission. The US government needs to maintain the idea that you fully support them on this. So that leaves the three of us, and security had to be doubled after Steve broke us out. We can't wage an all out assault on the compound by ourselves, that's suicide."

"Well, to make an already dim situation worse, I can't come either. If Ross thinks for one second that I'm working with you guys, I'll be thrown into that prison next."

Sam scoffed and threw his hands up in frustration. "So just me and Cap? We're badass, but not that much. We can't do this ourselves."

"Well I do have a bit of good news. I've already contacted Vision and he's on board. Say hi to the people Vision." Tony stepped to the side to prove his point, Vision sitting comfortably on a couch behind Tony, waving to the camera.

"Hello Captain, Mr. Wilson, Your Highness."

"Nice to hear you're on board, Vision. It's good to see you. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"So do I, Captain. But the good fight has to be fought. We can save our pleasantries until after we rescue this woman."

Steve nodded his approval and continued, "So that's me, Sam, Vision, and I can think of one other person who may not feel so adverse to giving Ross what's coming to him." Steve glanced at Sam and his face fell.

"You sure? I don't think she'll be too willing to return."

"We need to try, this woman's life hangs in the balance."

-PAGE BREAK-

"I just want to say for the record that I hate everything about this."

Steve smirked at Wanda's comment. If there was one thing he loved about his adopted little sister, it was her bluntness. It reminded him that there was still a little bit of her left, that Ross hadn't completely destroyed her.

He reached up to dim the lights as he steered them towards the prison, praising Tony's ability to not only block the complex's radar systems, but also to give the impression that their chopper was one of theirs, allowing them the advantage of surprise.

"Okay, everyone ready?"

He looked around at his crew as they all nodded.

"Okay, on three. One, two-"

"Hold on, Cap."

A look of confusion passed over Steve's face as he lifted his hand to his radio. "What's wrong, Tony?"

"Something's not right, no one's transmitting on their radios."

"So?"

"You see how huge this complex is? You mean to tell me a prison with hundreds of employees and none of them are communicating with each other?"

Steve paused to consider Tony's words and nodded. "You're right, you think it was attacked?"

"I don't know, there's only one way to find out."

"Roger that, over. Everyone here that?"

Everyone nodded with confirmation as Vision asked, "So what is the plan now? We do not know what to expect once we land."

"The plan stays the same. We need to get in, get the girl, and destroy this facility as quickly and as safely as possible. We can't leave her with them, and we can't leave this prison intact. We know what they're capable of." He locked eyes with Wanda as his words registered. Her look of annoyance swiftly transformed to one of determination and Steve inwardly smiled with pride at seeing it.

They all stood as the chopper landed on the helipad. The moment the doors opened they were off, sprinting towards the bay doors all the while keeping an eye out for any adversaries they could possibly encounter. They reached the doors without a hitch and burst inside, ready for an attack, but shocked at what they found.

The place was still in pristine condition. Nothing was out of place, so sign of a battle or forced entry, not a sound disrupted the pressing silence, nothing to hint at an assault. As they crept forward, Steve noticed two figures sitting behind a processing station a little ways down the hallway. He held his fist up to stop everyone's advance. He pointed two fingers at the desk to ensure everyone saw them. Once everyone was on the same page, he lifted his silenced weapon and crept forward. As they got closer, everyone tensed and readied themselves for an ambush. But it never came; the figures never moved. Steve threw a questioningly look at Sam who shrugged. They tentatively took the final steps, their guns at the ready, and upon reaching the men, quickly turned them around in their chairs.

"Steve…."

"I know, Sam."

"What the hell is going on?"

The men's throats were slit, blood still oozing from their wounds. The rest of the team came up behind the two men, curiousity pulling them from their formation to investigate what had their friends frozen in place.

Vision slipped forward and felt for a pulse. "The blood hasn't coagulated yet and their bodies are still warm. They couldn't have been killed longer than ten minutes ago."

"Alright team, we need to split up and execute the plan. Wanda and Sam, I want you two to head to the holding cells, get Johnson, and go straight back to the chopper. Vision, I want you to head down to the bottom of the complex. Lower all of the anchors then come back and provide cover for the three of them. I'll head to the control room. See what information I can get and initiate the self destruct sequence. You have your assignments, but be on high alert. We know there is an unknown assailant on the premises. Radio silence unless anything changes. Stealth is key here, there are too many of them for this to turn into an all out war. Move out."

The team broke apart, Wanda and Sam turning to the right, Vision phasing through the floor, and Steve straight ahead. He double checked the pocket in his newly issued stealth suit, courtesy of T'Challa, and was comforted by the feel of the flash drive. Satisfied, he slunk forward, his gun at the ready, but he felt naked without his shield, exposed. He shook these thoughts away as he approached the door of the control room, the hairs on his arm raising. Something didn't feel right. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside. He closed the door behind him and turned to survey the room, and froze at what he found.

It was a massacre. It was fair to say everyone who had been in this room at the time of the attack was dead. Dead bodies littered the floor, their blood sprayed all over the walls. A few lights were shot out, and bullet holes riddled the ceiling. He didn't know what information he'd be able to salvage, seeing as the majority of the computers were shot to smithereens, all except one in the middle of the room. He cautiously picked his way over the bodies, careful to avoid the pools of blood for fear of losing his footing. Finally he arrived at his destination and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that other than a healthy splattering of blood it was somehow intact, even going so far as to smile as he realized whoever was using this unit was still logged in. One less thing for him to worry about. He placed his gun next to the keyboard, inserted the flash drive, and quickly began the transfer of any and all files he could find. Tony could decipher them later.

"Uh, Cap?"

"Yeah Sam what's up?"

"She's not down here."

Steve paused what he was doing and asked, "What do you mean she's not down there?"

"He means that there is no sign of her down here. Only thing left is a score of dead bodies all over the place." Wanda's voice answered Steve's question.

"Hey, Wanda take a look at this soldier, he's completely stripped down. Uh oh, Steve, I think she's dressed as one of them."

"That means she could be anywhere. Keep your eyes open and head back towards the chopper. Last thing we need is her stealing the only form of transportation out of this place. I'll radio you if anything changes."

"Alright, Cap. Be careful, this chick is dangerous. Out."

Steve shook his head and continued transferring files until he felt movement behind him. He unconsciously crouched and reached out for his gun but was too late. A knife was held against his throat so tightly any movement could prove fatal. His assailant's other hand reached up and deftly removed his ear piece. He heard some fabric rustling, and assumed she had pocketed it, thus muffling any noise from transmitting to the team. Highly skilled in combat with the intelligence to match, she's much more dangerous than we expected, Steve thought. A quiet voice broke the tense silence.

"Who the hell are you, how many of you are there, and what do you want with me? Your life depends on your answer, so it's in your best interest to tell me what I want to know."

"My name is Steve Rogers, I'm with the Aven- with my friends, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, and Vision. We're here to rescue you from this place; they were planning on experimenting on you."

They stayed in that position, Steve holding his breath and holding his body as rigid as it could be. The last thing he needed to do was flinch and worsen an already dire situation.

"Why in the hell should I trust you? For all I know, you could be working for those bastards."

"May I turn around?"

"What?"

"May I turn around?" Steve reiterated calmly. There was a pause, and if she was as smart as he suspected, she was trying to figure out his angle, and weighing the pros and cons of acquiescing his request.

Finally, he felt the pressure of the blade leave his neck and took a mental breath of relief. He turned around slowly only to look down the barrel of his gun. He hadn't even noticed she had taken it, nor that she had moved back out of arm's reach.

"Put your hands up."

"You don't have to-"

The click of the safety being taken off silenced all attempts at reasoning and he slowly obliged to her request.

"I'm going to remove my mask so you can see me, okay? Please don't shoot me."

"If you try any funny business I swear to god- oh…."

Steve fully removed his mask and left his hands up in the air, watching as a mixture of emotions flitted across her face all at once: shock, disbelief, annoyance, and something he couldn't decipher in time before she scoffed and lowered the gun.

"What in the hell is Captain America doing here? I thought breaking the law wasn't really your thing."

She clicked the safety back on and tossed him his weapon as he replied, "Well I'm just full of surprises. Wait, why is my gun wet?"

"Oh my bad, hold on a sec." Sui flicked her wrist and the water droplets flew down to the floor.

She reached forward with her hand out. "I'm Taylor, but everyone calls me Sui. Sorry I held a knife to your throat, held you at gunpoint, and threatened to kill you. Shit happens, you know?"

Steve shook her hand as his eyebrows shot up in surprise at how relaxed she became in a matter of seconds. All hostility she exhibited moments before was gone. She ignored his searching gaze as she busied herself with checking the compartments of her stolen utility belt and swiping a pistol and some ammo from a nearby dead body. The uniform she had swiped was swimming on her medium frame, and was covered in blood, both old and new. She seemed completely unbothered and as she was appraising the pistol, asked, "See something you like, ponyboy?"

Steve snapped out of his staring after being addressed and smiled sheepishly. "No."

She raised an eyebrow and he immediately realized how she must have taken it, and rushed to remedy his slip up. "I mean, not that there's anything I don't like, You have a lot that I like. Well not a lot- I mean you're a very attractive woman." At her smirk he opened his mouth to continue to ramble until a beep from the computer behind him halted further discussion. Steve sighed in relief and whipped around to grab the flash drive, making sure to secure it before he slipped it back into its compartment. He returned to the computer, looking for anything mentioning a self-destruction sequence.

"Breaking into a secure government facility, stealing confidential information, attempting to spring a captured government prisoner. That's a lot excitement for someone your age, aren't you afraid of throwing out a hip or something?" Sui smirked again as she made her way across the room.

Steve threw another surprised look at the woman, then rolled his eyes. He elected to ignore the the fact that the person he figured they'd be rescuing almost killed him, and yet was now here cracking jokes at his expense. This had to be one of the strangest days of his life.

"Just shut up and help me look for the-"

"Self destruct button?" She grinned as she leaned against the control panel and gestured towards the blinking red button. She dug into her pockets and threw his earpiece at him as she added, "Bad guys always have their demise highlighted, bolded, and underlined. Then they wonder why the good guys always win. It's sad, really."

He chuckled as he radioed in to his team. "Vision, status report."

"Hello Captain. Yes, I have dropped all anchors and am about to rendezvous with Sam and Wanda."

"Alright, I've got Johnson and we're in position to detonate the self destruction sequence. We'll have 5 minutes to escape before this place is put to its final resting place. Sam, get the chopper ready and be prepared to leave on my go ahead, we'll see you soon. Out."

Steve double checked his pockets for the flash drive and checked his gun before holstering it as a voice made him pause.

"You have beautiful hair."

"Thank you? Now can you please-"

"And a nice ass."

"Um, thank you? Now if you could just-"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?"

"C'mon, I know you got super hearing. Do you. Have a. Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirlfrieeeeeeeeeend?"

"Okay one minute you have a knife to my throat, the next you're making passes at me?"

"Oh don't flatter yourself there, goldilocks. I was just stating some obvious facts and following up with a necessary question."

"How is my relationship status the least bit- Nevermind. Can you please just hit the button-"

Steve was cut off as Sui slammed on the button and smirked at him. He glared back as red warning lights flashed across the room and an alarm sounded throughout the complex. Steve gestured towards the door and within seconds they were dashing out the room and down the hallway. As they neared the check in desk, they heard footsteps rushing down from their right and at the same time realized there were too many to be Steve's team. They broke apart, both diving for cover and hoping they hadn't been seen. When the men finally reached them, it was clear to see they were in disarray, many still in the process of dressing themselves and checking their weapons. One, trying to be heard over the sound of the alarm, was screaming to another, "We have to get up to the control room. I know the cancellation code to enter into the system!"

From across the room, both Steve and Sui shared a look of panic before a quick flash of anger flashed across her face. Steve shook his head but it was too late. Sui rose from behind her cover and began firing on the men, each shot hitting their mark with deadly precision. Steve quickly moved to cover her, his vibranium suit offering much more protection than hers. A firefight ensued between the two and the rapidly depleting group of soldiers. The fight paused as the computer's voice cut through the alarm.

"Two minutes until detonation."

"Forget about them, get me to the damn control room!" The soldiers were quick to follow their leader's instructions. In formation, they supplied suppressing fire as they moved down the hallway toward their destination.

"Shit! I'm out of ammo. Rogers we can't let them cancel the self destruct order."

"Sui, we don't have time, we have to-

"Either you're with me, or you're against me, Steve. And I promise you, being against me will be the last decision you make."

Steve for the third time that night stared at her in utter shock. Her eyes had a menacing glint to them, and he wondered that this was the same woman who had been joking with him not five minutes ago. He looked behind her and noticed a large puddle of something rising of the floor. He squinted trying to see it as the alarm lights reflected off of it but in a flash it fell back to the floor so fast Steve could've sworn he had imagined it.

Sui rolled her eyes at his silence and figured she'd handle it herself. She grabbed the chair holding one of the dead bodies at the desk and went sprinting after the squad, using it as a human shield as she barreled down on them. Steve got up to follow her as she reached the first man, giving the chair an extra push and allowing its momentum to knock a few of them down as she pounced on her first victim. In record time he was incapacitated, and she was moving on to the next unlucky soldier. Time was of the essence and she knew it, so she took one look behind her to check Steve's position. Pleased to see him only a few steps back, she switched tactics; instead of wasting precious seconds killing the soldiers, she simply punched, kicked, and shoved her way through the men, her end goal reaching the leader before he could end the sequence.

Behind her, Steve had thrown himself into the fray with gusto, not hesitating to finish what Sui had started. He noticed she wasn't going for the kill, and he appreciated her ability to entrust Steve to have her back and handle those she'd left behind after knowing him for so short of a time.

At this point, the leader had reached the door and rushed into the control room, pausing only for a moment as the massacre of his coworkers before him sunk in before the scream of one of his men spurned him into action. He sprinted across the room as the countdown from one minute began, but just as he reached the keyboard his head went flying into the monitor, the knife imbedded in the back of his skull covered in blood, as was the caster's hands.

Sui smirked as she turned around and jetted out of the room as Steve gave a jaw crunching punch to the last standing soldier. They shared a nod and resumed their mad dash to the hangar. As the countdown reached thirty seconds they burst out the doors and sped towards the chopper.

"Take off Sam!"

"But Steve-"

"NOW Sam!"

The chopper was immediately airborne and steadily rising as they approached. Without a word, Steve grabbed Sui around her waist and leaped up, depending on his serum to get him up as high as he could, his hands straining to grab the bottom of the helicopter. His fingers brushed the handle, but couldn't get their grip in time and they began their descent back down towards the unforgiving pavement. In a flash Vision's hand shot out, grabbing Steve's outstretched hand and hoisting the both of them into the chopper. They both collapsed in exhaustion, turning at the last second to watch through the open door as explosions ripped through the complex. Finally, the weight of the water on the now structurally unsound submarine became too much, and it cracked within itself and within seconds, was claimed by the ocean's depths.

Okay, so yeah, all that happened. Let me know how I'm doing, leave a review! I apologize for any mistakes, and until next upload, PEACE!


	3. Chapter 3

And we're back! This story literally haunts me and I cannot seem to stop writing for now. So here's another chapter. And again, I apologize for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

"Well, I guess you could say that was an explosive first impression?" Sui burst into laughter as the rest of the passengers looked on with mixed emotions. Steve rolled his eyes, mentally giving up trying to figure her out, and smirked as he made his way to the copilot seat. Meanwhile, Vision and gave her a polite but blank stare, Sam glared at her while only Wanda seemed to share in her humor, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she shook his head.

They all settled into their seats as Steve took control of the chopper and radioed to Tony their success. Sui smiled shyly at everyone as they all began buckling up, and was reaching up to follow suit until a wave of dizziness slammed into her. She collapsed back into her seat with a groan, her hand reaching up to grasp at her gut.

"Captain?"

"What is it Vision?"

"I think Ms. Johnson's been shot."

"What?" Steve switched on the autopilot as he made his way to the back of the helicopter, where Sui was in the process of shooing Vision away.

"It's just a graze, relax Hellboy."

But the blood beginning to pool from her wound would suggest otherwise, and Steve ripped open the compartment to his right, frantically searching for the first aid kit.

"I just, I just need some water, just give me some water."

"She might be going into shock, sir. Sit back down, Ms. Johnson. You'll only tire yourself trying to fight me off."

"Oh for fuck's sake go away I told you to stop fretting, I'll be fine if you guys just gave me some damn water-"

"Ms. Johnson I insist-"

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sui surged out of her seat to shove Vision, but he became permeable at the last second as a reflex and next thing she knew, she was freefalling down towards the ocean, Steve's screams of protest the last thing she heard before she made contact with the water and was plunged into darkness.

As she fell deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean, she looked around in a panic, nothing in her sight indicating where the surface was. Realizing just how little oxygen she had left, she took a mental deep breath and calmed herself down. She was surrounded by her element, this could be a blessing in disguise. All she had to do was heal the worst life-threatening wound she's ever had while attempting to swim in a direction she hoped was towards the surface all before she ran out of oxygen. Piece of cake, she thought grimly.

She held her body in a relaxed position, trusting the buoyancy of the human body to hint at where the surface was, and after a beat she was not disappointed. Sui gritted her teeth as the edges of her vision tinged with black. She pushed past the worry and focused on waving her right arm in a circular motion around her body, gaining control of just enough water to shoot her up to her goal. Simultaneously, she moved her left hand in smaller circles, seizing control of the water in the vicinity of her gunshot wound, and after a highly concentrated plea from her exhausted mind, was pleased to see the water begin to glow and feel her body trying to stitch itself back together.

Satisfied that process was underway, Sui shifted some of her waning focus and moved her right arm in a sharp upwards motion, beginning her speedy ascent. A few moments passed, and she could just make out the passing of a search light sweeping across the water. They must be looking for me, she inwardly smiled. Suddenly, her head felt light and a sense of foreboding set in. In her exhausted state, her chi was overworked, and she could feel her control slipping. Her eyes widened as the realization hit: she didn't have enough energy to both heal and propel herself to the surface- she had to choose one.

After a second of indecision, she released her hold on the water around her body and focused her attention on her wound. She dimly hoped the momentum she had created would carry her the rest of the way, but knew it wouldn't be enough. As her climb towards her goal slowed drastically, she could feel the bullet pop out, and felt her wound finally close. Sui took a mental sigh of relief as her vision dimmed to black. She spared a glance up towards the surface and watched as a figure dove into the water, their hand just brushing her fingertips as her body finally gave up the fight and she passed out.

-PAGE BREAK-

"How's she doing?"

Steve looked up from his sketch book, smiling as he was about to answer until what he saw made him hesitate. Sam was staring at Sui warily, his body language tense. It was as if he expected her to attack at any moment and Steve frowned. She hadn't done anything to deserve this distrust, and he was appalled Sam was the one to give it to her.

"She lost a lot of blood, but she should be able to pull through just fine."

Sam nodded and moved to occupy the seat on the other side of Sui's hospital bed as Steve went back to his drawing. Sitting down with a sigh, Sam finally tore his gaze away from Sui and quietly examined his friend. Steve was a wreck. The bags under his eyes belied his lack of sleep. His hair, usually not a strand out of place, was haphazardly standing in every direction, and like the rest of his tactical suit, was still caked with salt from the water after his dive into the ocean. Sam smirked to himself, leave it to Steve to put himself on the line for a complete stranger. A stranger who was one of the most dangerous people he's ever met.

"Hey Cap? Are we gonna talk about everything that happened?"

Steve glanced up again and gave Sam a confused look. "Talk about what?"

Sam shrugged sarcastically as he answered, "You know, the fact that this woman broke out of one of those holding cells BY HERSELF and took out the guards in the jail sector BY HERSELF. Oh, and let's not forget how she was smart enough to disguise herself, sneak to the bay to kill the guards on duty, THEN go to the control room and not only kill the soldiers there, but also destroy their communication systems. AND to top it all off, she was able to get the drop on YOU. Now we're all supposed to just hold hands and sing kumbaya?"

"Sam…"

"She's dangerous, Steve! We don't know anything about her, her motivations, or the extent of her skillset. And don't even get me started on her powers."

"She has nowhere else to go Sam. You saw the tape just like I did. Her place is compromised, and based off of the extensiveness of the files Ross had on her, any other place she would want to go is compromised too. We can't just leave her to fend for herself, Sam. She needs us."

Sam scoffed and stood up. "Well I don't trust her. It's the mysterious ones you have to watch out for… I'll be keeping an eye on her, and I suggest you do the same." With that, Sam swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Steve winced, then sighed resignedly. The Sam he knew from before would not hesitate to help a stranger in need. But his time in Ross's prison made him cynical and distrustful. Steve only hoped it wasn't irrevocable; for it was, he feared he'd not only lose a teammate, but also a close friend. A weak voice interrupted his musings and he swung his attention to the bed in front of him.

"Just what every girl wants, a stalker." Sui weakly smirked as she struggled to open her eyes against the bright lights of the hospital room. She allowed herself a few minutes to adjust before she took a second to appraise her surroundings. She must have been in some form of a hospital room, though she noted it was a tad smaller than others and had no other inhabitant in sight. Straining her ears, she picked up hushed voices coming from the hallway, but noticed the lack of bustle usually associated with hospitals. This isn't a hospital, this is a private infirmary, she thought. And by the look of the expensive equipment the room housed, this belonged to a very rich benefactor at that. She then turned her examination inward, checking on her injuries and pleased to see that other than being utterly exhausted, she was fine physically. Satisfied, she finally turned her attention to her companion and gave him a wide grin.

Steve returned her smile as he closed his book and placed it on the end table to his left. Sui opened her mouth to say something but before any sound came out she succumbed to a coughing attack. Steve snatched a straw and a glass of water off the table and brought it her parched lips. Her eyes expressed her gratitude as she thirstily drank the offered beverage. Once finished, Steve replaced the glass and settled into his seat again.

"How you feeling?"

"Honestly? Other than feeling like I could sleep for a few years without a problem, I'm fantastic. How are you, goldilocks? You know, other than being soaked through and through and being thoroughly bone-tired. Did you even get any sleep while I was out?"

Steve gave her a small smile as he replied, "Well I napped for twenty minutes once."

"And how long have I been out?"

"About a day?"

"Add that to the Mission:Impossible-esque adventure we had before hand and you sir have been up for almost 36 hours straight. If I had known you were that anxious to see me I would've woken up sooner."

She smirked as she watched him shift uncomfortably in his chair and his ear tinge with red.

"Wow, who knew the almighty Captain America could be bested by just a little innocent flirting?" Her smirk turned to a full out smile as the red spread to his face as well. After a moment of enjoyment, Sui finally decided to let him off the hook and moved to a subject she had a feeling he would be more comfortable with.

"So what happened? I dimly remember being in the helicopter, then free falling towards the ocean, and from then on everything is a little hazy."

Steve relaxed slightly and gladly dived into the new topic much more comfortably. "You must have gotten shot during our fight with the soldiers, you were losing a lot of blood fast. I was looking for our first aid to kit to patch you up but next thing I know you're flying out of the helicopter and into the ocean. We searched for you for a while; we didn't think we'd be able to find you." He paused then, watching her face for her reaction to what he was going to say next. "Then, we saw a faint glow in the water and watched as it came closer and closer to the surface. We figured it was you and quickly got you in the chopper and brought you back to Wakanda to have you patched up. But turns out you didn't really need it…."

Sui rolled her eyes at Steve's obvious pry and decided to curb his curiosity. "You know by this point that I can control water right?" Steve nodded in affirmation as she continued. "Well, along with that, I can use the water to heal myself. Though I've never done it to that extent before, nor while at the same time as losing oxygen and propelling myself towards the surface… Damn, I'm a badass."

Steve's eyebrows rose in surprise as he chuckled in amusement and replied, "Yeah, that is very impressive."

She smiled at his comment, then her face took a more serious tone. "Thank you, Steve."

"Don't mention it, it was nothing." He replied, waving her off.

A flash of indignation crossed her face and Steve was dimly aware of the remaining water in the cup momentarily shaking.

"The possibility of death is not some frivolous thing that you can just dismiss, Steve. There are much more deserving people who should be in my place, ones with less blood on their hands, and I refuse to dishonor their memory by taking a second chance at life for granted."

Sui stared into Steve's eyes and scowled as a look of sympathy and understanding flashed across his face. She broke eye contact and looked down at her hands dismally. She had almost let her walls down, and he had sensed it. She didn't need Captain America, the epitome of everything that was whole and pure in this world, to give her his sympathy or understanding. She didn't deserve it.

Before Steve could ask what she had meant, she quickly interjected, "You know what, Steve? I'm actually very tired, you know from healing a life-threatening injury and everything. I should try to get some more rest." And with that, she turned her back to him and curled in on herself, hoping he got the message and left her alone for the time being.

It didn't take long for Steve to realize he had been effectively shut out, and, not knowing what else to do, resigned himself to gathering his stuff and preparing to leave. As he reached the door, he paused and stared at her for a moment before he said, "I'll be just down the hallway. If you need anything, there are nurses right outside this door, and they're instructed to come and get me if anything changes. See you soon." He waited a few seconds to see if she would answer. The silence stretched on, and Steve couldn't help but deflate a little bit as he moved to leave.

"Steve?"

"Yes?" Steve turned and regarded Sui's tense back hopefully as he waited for her to continue.

"Your friend Sam is right. I AM a threat, and I can't be trusted. It'd be in your and everyone else's best interest to keep a close eye on me while I'm here. It's better that way."

Astounded, Steve shook his head in puzzlement and held back any responses he had to discredit her claims. He resolved not to say anything at the moment and slipped out of the room. Tony had warned him, Sam had warned him, and now the person in question had also warned him about how dangerous she was. And yet, something in Steve could not, and would not, look at her as a potential threat. He's met his share of monsters, and he just knew she wasn't one of them. Like with Rumlow, there was this coldness that could be attributed to a disregard for human life, but when he looked into Sui's eyes, he didn't see that at all. Instead he saw so much remorse and suffering, he immediately recognized it. It was hard not to, it was the same thing he saw in the mirror every day.

So yeah, that happened! A little bit of filler, and the next one is gonna be about the same as well. Let me know how I did and until next time, adios!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Oh c'mon, goldilocks! You heard the doctors, I'm fine."

"No."

"Look, I have been more than fair. I have stayed confined in this prison of a bed and ate the mush they called food for days with no complaints." Sui paused for a second as the nurse collecting her plates off the end table scoffed and threw her an incredulous look. "No offense to you, Faraji. You guys took great care of me."

The nurse shook her head and smiled at her patient. "Not without some fighting from you might I add."

"She's right, Sui. Sometimes I think you called me in here just to complain." Steve smiled at the nurse as she left the room, then turned his attention back to the situation at hand. "I really think you should take it easy for just a little while. Your brain was without oxygen for almost a minute, there still could be some brain damage."

"Oh hush now. I feel perfectly fine and I'm going stir crazy just sitting here. I might as well join your training session." She quickly got out of the bed, electing to ignore Steve's complaints and his attempts to help her find her balance, instead depending on the end post as she waited for the room to stop spinning. Once she got her bearings, she looked at Steve and smirked at the frown adjourning his face. "Besides, it'd be better for you guys to have a real-life battle situation, and someone has to play the bad guy."

At that last comment, Steve's frown deepened and he didn't hesitate to voice his dissent. "You can't take all of us on your own, that's an unfair match-up."

"Oh no it's not, I got some tricks up my sleeve. Anyways, it'll give Sam a chance to size me up and find my weaknesses for when I 'inevitably try to kill all of you in your sleep'."

Steve's face reddened as he nervously scratched the back of his neck. "You heard that, huh?"

"Well it wasn't like he was making sure I didn't."

Steve lowered his head in shame as he remembered that day. Sam had been drinking, a new habit he had picked up as of late, and had slammed his way into the infirmary, ranting and raving about nonsense. From what Steve could pick up, most of it was about Sui and her presence in the palace. It took Steve an hour to wrestle Sam to his room, and another twenty minutes to get him to go to bed to sleep it off. He had then taken the time to remove any and all alcohol in his friend's quarters and instructed all dining and kitchen staff to notify him if Sam asked for a drink. Sure, it made things pretty tense between the two of them, but if that kept Sam from self-medicating his pain away, then Steve was happy.

"I'm sorry about that. I'll get him to apologize-"

Sui waved him off as she replied, "Don't worry about it. There's no point in apologizing if you're not actually sorry about something. Even though he was drunk, he meant what he said and in all honesty, not everything he said was wrong about me. I won't fault him for it, he's right not to fully trust me."

Steve thought about their conversation from last week and wanted nothing more than to discount her comments, but he thought better of it and held back. The last thing he wanted was to get into an argument he knew he wouldn't win, at least not yet. Besides, there was a more pressing debate that they were straying away from, and he noticed that as Sui was inching her way towards the door as if he wouldn't notice, that it was done purposely. He smiled as he stood up and in a few strides overtook her and blocked the doorway.

"Oh for fuck's sake Steve, would you get out of my way?"

"I really don't think this is a good idea-"

"Listen, if you want to get down and nasty by all means say the word, I'm sure that door locks." She smiled wide as his face colored red and he avoided eye contact. Embarrassing Steve had to be her new favorite pastime.

"That's not what it is at all! I just think some bed rest would do you some good-"

"Either you're with me, or you're against me, Steve. And I promise you, being against me will be the last decision you make."

His eyes shot up to her face as he recognized the threat from the night they were at the prison. Once he saw the playful glint in her eyes, he relaxed and returned her smile, his earlier embarrassment forgotten. "You're not going to stop are you?"

"Nope, so here's what's going to happen: you're either one, gonna let me out of this damn place, give me a change of clothes and let me into your team's training session, or two, I'm going to escape and terrorize the palace. I'm thinking placing jelly in everyone's shoes, replacing the sugar with salt in the kitchen, and to top it all off, maybe some dye in everyone's shampoo. It's completely up to you." She smiled up at him and crossed her arms as she awaited his answer.

Steve shook his head and sighed concedingly. He knew it was a lost cause the moment he came into the room. "Fine, but you have to take it easy. The moment you feel dizzy or lightheaded you need to tell us. Promise?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Can I go now?"

He rolled his eyes and stepped to the side, holding the door open as a squealing Sui rushed out.

"I am so going to regret this."

-PAGE BREAK-

After a quick tour of the palace and its surrounding grounds, Steve ushered Sui into her quarters and told her to hurry up getting ready, training began in an hour. He paused for a second at the door, obviously intending on reasoning with her to sit this one out, but a swift question about whether nudity bothered him and her reaching for the back of her robe had him out of the room in record time. She chuckled to herself as she took stock of her surroundings.

The room was what she would have expected of any royal guest room. Just enough designs to relay the family's wealth, but not enough to be worth much of anything if the guest had sticky fingers. She went to the dresser and ruffled around the assortment of clothes until she found a suitable pair of leggings with a matching turtleneck. Not the most visually appealing outfit, but it allowed for movement and had a low chance of snagging on anything so it would have to do. Though she smiled as she thought how Steve might react to the leggings, they would do nothing to hide her pride and joy and she couldn't wait to see his face.

Still smiling, she ventured into the adjourning bathroom in her suite and in a few moments had the tub full of water and could not get into it fast enough. As she sunk into the warmth, she sighed happily and finally relaxed for the first time since she'd first woken up in Wakanda. There was no better feeling than to be surrounded by her element, in a controlled setting mind you. She cautiously called to the water and was overjoyed to feel it respond immediately. With a twist of her arms, she brought up a section of water and ran it through her hair, giving her thick curls a much needed wash before she focused on the rest of her body. As she washed, she also focused on keeping the water temperature the same, attempting to practice as much as she could in as little time and space as possible.

As she finished washing her body, her good mood dissipated as she allowed herself to turn over the facts of the last week. Masuta Haru was dead, she was kidnapped and brought to some secret government facility, then rescued by none other than Captain America and his merry bunch of friends, one of which hated her and wanted her gone as soon as possible. The feelings she had been suppressing finally came to the surface, and she brought her legs to her chest as she sobbed. She mourned her teacher, a man whose love truly knew no bounds, even though he knew everything about her past. He never judged her for it, even going so far as to attempt to heal her broken heart and soul in every way he knew how. But it was never enough, and eventually, Sui stopped allowing him to see the self-hate and the rage she had. She pretended to be healed, to have forgiven herself, but she had known she could never truly be whole again, and was at least grateful he hadn't been able to see her predictions come to fruition.

Other than his teachings of self-love and confidence, Haru had also took it upon himself to teach her everything he knew of Ninjutsu, the art of combat and espionage. He knew with her powers she would never be allowed to live a normal life, and thusly prepared her to protect herself and the ones she loved. She sobbed again as she remembered how she failed in that regard, vowing to never be in that situation again. Anyone she's ever loved, she's lost. Not anymore.

She scowled as she thought of the man responsible for her capture and her teacher's murder. The water boiled and sloshed around the tub as she closed her eyes and imagined his face. She didn't want to forget any details; anything could help when she began her search for him. But she wouldn't stop there. He obviously took pleasure from death, but he didn't make the call to kill Haru. That had come from his superiors, and Sui vowed not to rest until all of them paid for what they did. You will be avenged, Masuta, I promise you, she thought grimly. But she knew she needed help, and also knew just where to get it.

Steve and his friends had not only been at that prison for her rescue, they also made sure to steal as much information as possible and destroy the complex completely. She could understand the latter, it was obvious that part had been a personal mission for the team. But the gathering of information didn't have a vengeful purpose; they intended to use that for something, and Sui had a feeling that if she wanted information on that dick and his superiors, she had to ensure her place on this team. She had to dupe these people into thinking they could trust her explicitly, and she hated herself even more for it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After a few minutes of strategizing, Sui wiped her eyes and stood up, and with a flick of her wrist, summoned the water out of her hair and off her body. She quickly lotioned and got dressed, and was in the process of hunting for some socks and shoes before a light knock on her door interrupted her search. She rushed back to the bathroom to check for signs of her earlier distress and pasted on a smile.

"Come in!" She screamed then winced. Even she could feel the disingenuous tone in her voice. She just hoped whoever it was didn't pick up on it.

There was a slight hesitation and Sui bit her lip in nervous anticipation. She could not handle an 'are you okay?' conversation right now; she had just stuffed emotions back into their box, and she just knew any inquiry about her welfare would bust it open. A quiet, "Are you decent?" calmed her worries and brought a genuine smile to her face and a mischievous glint to her eyes.

"Yes, Steve. Maybe not so much for the forties, but you're not gonna get a free peek at the merchandise. Unless, of course, you want to?" She chuckled as she heard a large huff of irritation on the other side of the door. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she crossed the room and opened the door, moving to the side to let an equally flustered and annoyed Steve in.

"I figured you might need these." He held out a pair of tactical boots and some heavy socks, much to Sui's delight. She snatched them and made quick work of lacing them up, a small smile gracing her face as she examined them on her feet.

"Thanks a bunch, Stevie. Not that being barefoot would inhibit my ability to kick your ass, but it'll be minutely easier with some secure footing."

His eyebrows rose in surprise and he chuckled at her trash talking. "That's if you CAN kick my ass."

"Aw, you really think there's a chance I won't, huh? That's so cute." She moved to pinch his cheek and he good-naturedly swatted her hands away.

Steve laughed at her playful behavior and asked, "I take it you really don't like to lose?"

"Not that I don't like to, it just doesn't happen."

He laughed again and shook his head. "I really hope you can back all of this up. C'mon, they're waiting for us."

"Well why the hell didn't you start off with that? Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out the room towards the training arena, leaving Steve to struggle to find his footing.

They finally reached the arena, and Steve placed a staying hand on her arm, stopping her advancement. She turned to protest with a smart quip but dropped all jovialness when she saw the serious look on his face.

"Are you sure you want to do this? They won't take it easy on you and you could be seriously hurt."

"Don't worry about me, Steve. I can handle anything they throw at me, I'm a big girl."

"That's not what I meant."

She sighed and grasped his hand, forcing him to stare into her eyes. "Relax, okay? I promised I'd take it easy, remember? I'll be fine. Now c'mon, I've been cooped up in that room for too long and haven't beat anyone's ass for a whole week, I'm going through withdrawals." Steve rewarded her with a small smile that she returned gladly.

Time passed by, yet they still wouldn't look away from each other. She knew their staring was passing what was deemed appropriate, but she couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from his deep and gentle blue ones. Careful, Taylor, she thought. Keep your distance. You only need his trust, not an attachment. Remember the mission, remember Haru.

That train of thought was enough to snap her back to reality, and she cleared her throat as she took a few steps back. Her movement seemed to snap Steve out of his trance as well, causing him to duck his head and brush imaginary lint off of his suit. After an awkward moment of silence, he finally opened the door and gestured for Sui to lead the way, avoiding eye contact as she passed him.

She squared her shoulders back and lifted her head high. She wouldn't let that little moment throw her off of her game. She knew she was in a weakened state, and fighting almost all of the ex-Avengers in one go probably wasn't the smartest decision she's ever made, but she'd be damned if she backed out now. Besides, as Masuta Haru always said, 'Failure is the stepping stone to success.' She might lose, but the knowledge she would gain would be priceless. She's only ever trained with Haru, and though he did change up his fighting style constantly to keep her on her toes, she had never sparred with another super before, and now she was going against three. She smiled in nervous anticipation as she followed Steve to the center of the room.

"Let's do this."

-PAGE BREAK-

The rules of the session were simple: no killing, (Sam had glared in Sui's direction pointedly and she had smirked back, much to Steve's annoyance), no seriously incapacitating attacks (meaning no mind games for Wanda and no infinity stone for Vision), and when anyone was either stuck or fully exposed to a kill move, they had to forfeit. Once he was sure everyone understood the rules, Steve made the teams as even as he could. Though Sui had protested immensely, he placed himself on her team to face off against Sam, Vision, and Wanda. Each team broke apart, and got one minute to strategize.

Sui glared at Steve and refused to say anything for the first few seconds.

"I think our best course of action is to-"

"I didn't need your help, I told you I can handle-"

"I know you can!" Steve sighed exasperatedly. "But you don't have to do everything by yourself. You claim you're fine, but it's obvious you're not at a hundred percent yet. So you can be mad all you want about being partnered with me but it's happening no matter what, so you can either deal with it and we can strategize how to win or you can continue to sulk and then suffer the consequences of losing. What do you want to do?"

She glared at him for a few more seconds and Steve worried for a moment that he had overstepped his bounds. But then he saw her face break out in a smile and he inwardly sighed in relief.

"Wow, well I feel properly scolded. Good job, goldilocks. So what's the plan here? I'll be honest, I don't really even know what everyone's powers are. Well, actually that's a lie. I know Sam's."

Steve raised an eyebrow in question as she leaned over to whisper to him conspiratorially. "It's his goatee. I mean, have you seen that thing? He must have to fend off hordes of women every day."

Steve threw his head back in laughter as Sui watched on proudly. He felt bad he was laughing at his friend's expense, but he couldn't help it. There was something about Sui's faces that always made him laugh. Now that he was thinking about it, he had laughed more in the past week than he had in months, even with such heavy material on his mind. And in that moment, he was grateful for Sui's presence in the palace, for he knew his mental state would be nowhere near as positive as it had been without it.

Once he had calmed down enough, they quickly made up a plan they hoped would work in their favor, then moved to join the other team on the floor. While they were deliberating, T'Challa and the Dora Milaje had entered the room, claiming the spectators seats surrounding the arena. T'Challa graciously stood up and glanced at both teams, ensuring they were properly ready. Once satisfied, he smiled down at them and nodded his head, allowing the fight to commence.

Steve and Sui crouched down and immediately went on the offensive. Sui bent water out of the humid air in the room and with a quick motion, brought it up from under Wanda and Vision, shooting them up to the ceiling. She was careful to slow it down to not cause serious harm to the two, but moments after they made contact with the ceiling, she froze the water solid. She made sure to leave their faces open before she froze another layer of ice to keep them there. Vision phased through the ice, just as Steve and Sui expected, but was then left with a choice to make. If he didn't free Wanda, then she would have to forfeit, but all that was left of his team was Sam and he couldn't take on both Steve and Ms. Johnson. He made up his mind and, throwing Wanda an apologetic look, he flew down to the ground to engage Steve in some hand to hand combat.

Meanwhile, Sam had flanked Sui while she was distracted and had moved to pounce on her. She felt his presence at the last second and raised her arms up in a flash, turning humid air into a thick mist, temporarily blinding everyone, including the spectators. Sam looked around frantically, trying to locate his adversary before she could take advantage of his momentary blindness. Suddenly, a figure came flying out at him from behind, effectively tackling him to the ground and pinning him down. The mist dissipated as he struggled, and after a few more seconds of fighting, he felt the person place all of their weight on him and he belatedly realized with an inner sigh of relief that it wasn't Sui, but Steve.

"Do you forfeit?"

Sam struggled for a few more seconds, but eventually gave up trying. Steve was much too heavy to throw off and even if he managed to do so, he couldn't take him on in hand to hand combat. He deflated resignedly and nodded his head.

Steve smiled as he released his friend and reached down to help him up. Sam slapped his hand to the side and got up by himself. Brushing himself off, he threw one last glare Steve's way and stormed off towards the spectator's section, choosing a seat far from the rest of the crowd. Steve watched his friend with dismay before a grunt of pain brought his attention back to the fight at hand.

Sui was having a very hard time trying to pin Vision down, whether her attack was with water or her fists, he always managed to phase through them, then become solid again to counter. She had thus far managed to dodge his attacks but she was tiring out much faster than she was used to, slowing down so much that his last attack managed to clip her in the gut, causing the wind to be knocked out of her. She collapsed to the ground and Vision was quick to pin her down.

"Do you forfeit, Ms. Johnson?"

She struggled for a second before she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Smirking, she remembered the final piece of the plan and returned to her attention to the situation at hand.

"Nope, I don't, but you're about to."

Vision face contorted in confusion before movement to his left caused him to turn, and at the last second, became permeable to avoid Steve's attack. But Steve had expected that, and had already adjusted his movements appropriately. With the grace of a professional gymnast, he passed through Vision and tucked his body into a roll, while simultaneously grasping Sui's body and, using his momentum and Vision's permeability to his advantage, threw her up in the air. She hurriedly bent more water from around her and created a small wave to aid her descent.

At this point, Steve had already gotten to his feet, and was trying to fight Vision in hand to hand combat, with much of the same results Sui had gotten earlier. Stealthily, Sui landed on the ground and transformed the wave into ice spikes, and that was when time seemed to slow down. Steve had just thrown a punch that had seamlessly passed through Vision's face, leaving his body open for an attack that Vision was already in the process of delivering. That was when Sui threw the spikes, all of them aimed towards Vision's head. All narrowly missed but one, which lightly grazed his neck and drew a small bead of blood. Everyone froze in shock and a tense silence permeated the room.

"I didn't have to miss." Everyone's eyes focused on Sui but she ignored them all as she stared Vision down defiantly. "You were exposed to a kill move, so-"

"I forfeit." Vision interrupted with a nod of acknowledgement.

After that, the room erupted in cheers, T'Challa and his crowd leaving their seats to go congratulate the winning team. Steve grasped T'Challa's hand with a wide grin, nodding his thanks to everyone. It took him a second to realize his teammate wasn't by his side, and he immediately searched around for her, his smile growing at what he found.

Sui had already freed Wanda from her ice restraints on the ceiling, melting the ice and using the water to gently bring her back down to the ground. She strode over and began her inspection for any injuries, slapping away Wanda's hands as she undoubtedly tried to protest the unsanctioned inspection. Once satisfied, she turned around to consider the approaching Vision, who had his hand applied to his wound and obvious concern for Wanda in his eyes. She stopped him in his tracks and said something Steve couldn't hear, but understood immediately when Vision moved his hand from his neck and she called some water to heal it. She furrowed her brow in concentration for a few beats, as the glowing light from the water reflected on her face. Once finished, she dissipated the used water and checked her handiwork, before she smiled and grasped Vision's hand then Wanda's. They smiled back tentatively until Sui said something and they both reared back in laughter. Finally, they moved to rejoin the crowd, and Steve made sure to catch Sui's eye, giving her a nod of approval.

He noticed movement to his left and looked just in time to watch Sam slip out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

"C'mon Wanda, you gotta keep your form relaxed. You're too rigid. It makes it almost impossible for you to adapt appropriately." Sui demonstrated the proper stance to her new student, then indicated for Wanda to copy her. Wanda rolled her eyes but followed her instructions repeatedly until Sui's face finally broke into a grin and she gave her a small round of applause.

"See, there you go! Keeping your body like that allows you to be able to move quicker to block anything. Like this." Without warning Sui threw an uppercut at Wanda's gut, and was pleased when Wanda managed to block and redirect the force of her fist outwards. She was then pleasantly surprised when Wanda took advantage of Sui's imbalance and raised her knee to her gut, aiming to knock the wind out of her. Sui hesitated for a split second, wondering whether she should allow her student to get a shot in, but then at the last second decided against it. Wanda had told her before they started that she didn't want to be coddled, and Sui was happy to oblige.

Sui wrapped her arms around Wanda's leg and pulled out and up, dropping Wanda to the ground and pinning her down all in one move. Wanda's face was a mixture of shock and disappointment, as Sui hopped up quickly and offered her hand to help her up. Wanda sighed and accepted the gesture, wincing as she stood up.

"Let's call it a day, huh? C'mon, I'll patch you up." Both women made their way to the locker room, grabbing their waters and towels on the way. Silence reigned as Wanda grabbed her change of clothes then together they ventured to the bathroom. Sui turned on the faucet then looked away as Wanda undressed and slipped into the waiting water. Sui then sat behind the tub and closed her eyes in concentration. They sat in silence while Sui focused on her patient, searching for injuries from their training session.

"You did good today, you know."

Wanda grunted in disbelief and answered, "I got pinned down ten times and didn't even hit you once. I wouldn't categorize that as 'good'."

Sui chuckled lightly as she finished prioritizing which wounds needed the most attention first and went to work, the water in the tub glowing as she concentrated. "Sure, you sucked a little bit, but that's beside the point."

"Oh, and what is?" Wanda huffed.

"Your improvement. Every time I pinned you down, it was always slightly harder than the time before. And every time you tried to hit me, you got better and better at surprising me. You never blocked the same way, you never attacked or counterattacked the same way, and that's extremely important. What are the two most important skills to have when in a fight?"

Wanda deliberated for a bit before answering, "Skills and strength?"

"No, intelligence and adaptability. You could be against the strongest and toughest fighter in the world. But if you're smarter than him, or her, and can adapt to anything, you'll have an edge that may even help you win." She finished her healing and stood up with a sigh.

"I'll leave you to your bath, but I just wanna leave you with something." She waited until Wanda looked up at her, ensuring that her words stuck with her. "You are a highly intelligent woman, Wanda. If there's one thing I want you to take away from these sessions, it's to never doubt yourself or your abilities. You have the potential to be great, don't get in your own way." And with that, Sui swept out of the room, leaving a contemplative Wanda in her wake.

-PAGE BREAK-

Sui returned to the training room and made her way over to the equipment, seeking out a punching bag but freezing when she realized she wasn't alone. Sam was currently running on a treadmill, listening to his iPod, and had yet to notice her presence. She took the time to appraise him, and frowned at what she noticed.

Sam looked like shit. He had let his facial hair get out of control, that cute goatee she had joked with Steve about a week ago had morphed into an unkempt beard. His face looked hollowed out, his cheeks taught and sunken in. And his overall appearance just spoke of a haunted man; her heart went out to him. He may hate her, but her presence isn't what caused this: he's been through some stuff, and hasn't been able to work through it and heal yet. So she decided to help him out.

She looked around to be sure they were alone, then smirked when she thought about what she was about to do. Steve is gonna be so pissed, she thought. She snuck back to the center of the room where she had her session with Wanda and took one more look around, pleased to see the two of them were the only ones left in the room. She bent the water in the air around her, forming a rope of sorts. She then threw it at the treadmill, snatching Sam mid stride and dragging him back to her. She unceremoniously dumped him on the ground then dissipated the water in the air, waiting for the inevitable.

She didn't have to wait long, as a second later Sam was in her face.

"What the hell was that, you snake?"

"That was me finally doing what you've been waiting for. I saw an opportunity and am currently taking it." She grinned wickedly and flounced around him, inwardly cringing at playing him this way. But she was comforted by knowing she was doing this for his own good.

"What the fuck-"

"I've already gotten Wanda. Such a sweet girl, but much too trusting. Doesn't she know she should never turn her back on an assassin? Well, I guess she'll never know now…" She watched as Sam struggled to control himself, but if his shaking fists, clenched jaw, and heightened breathing were any indication, he was about to go off. Just another little push…

"And Steve?" She paused as Steve's name made Sam freeze, and gasped as the look of pure torment in Sam's glare hit her full force. She felt bad, but she needed him to let loose everything he's been suppressing, and this was the only way to do it. "Oh, that was almost too easy. All I had to do was bat my pretty little eyes and ask for his help and he was just putty in my hands-"

She was cut off as Sam's fist connected with her jaw, sending her flying back onto the floor. Stars burst across her vision, and she didn't need to evaluate herself to know it was fractured. But she didn't get a second to recuperate as Sam pounced on her, a flurry of punches and kicks descending at an alarming rate. She did her best to block the worst ones, and waited for an opportunity to present itself to at least take some control of the fight back.

Sam's rage finally afforded him to leave an opening, and Sui rushed to take advantage of it. She head butted him, then kneed him in the gut to get him off of her. She scrambled to get up as Sam regained his breath and slowly stood, his anger exacerbated tenfold. He roared as he charged her, and Sui knew that if he had a chance, he would kill her with his bare hands. So she engaged in the dance: balancing keeping Sam from killing her, but also allowing him to get his frustrations out. In the process, she took countless hits into her gut, one of them eventually cracking a rib, a black eye, and a busted lip. She made sure to give a few hits back, both for her own safety and to keep Sam thinking this was a real fight. He sported a black eye and a busted lip as well, though Sui was sure to avoid giving him any serious injuries.

The fight only lasted for a few minutes, but it felt like a lifetime to the two combatants. They both began to tire rapidly; Sui was still not at a hundred percent, and Sam's mixture of anger and grief had started to ebb away. But neither was going to be the first to forfeit, so they kept punching and kicking until red tendrils reached up and ripped them away from each other, throwing them on opposite sides of the room.

They both turned to survey the new player, and Sam cried in shock and relief as he saw a stewing Wanda, her hair still dripping and her clothes in disarray, approach him. His eyes filled with tears as he rushed to her and enveloped her in a huge hug, holding on for dear life. Wanda hesitated for second, confusion written all over her face before tears welled in her eyes and she hugged Sam back. After a few seconds of this, Sam pulled away, and inspected Wanda for injuries or any signs of distress until another voice made him freeze in shock.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Steve's voice boomed across the room, making everyone inwardly cringe. But Sam didn't waste anytime and sprinted over to his best friend, enveloping him in a bear hug and finally bursting into tears. His legs gave out from under him and he sunk to the floor, Steve following him down and holding him as he sobbed. Wanda quickly moved to join the two, Sam's grief bringing her own to the surface as she succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to fall since Sam hugged her.

They sat huddled together, crying for everything that had happened to them and their friends in the past few months. They cried for Pietro, for Bucky, for the people of Sokovia, for the people of Lagos, for Tony, Natasha, Rhodey, Clint and lastly, for themselves. After a few minutes, the sobs turned to sniffles, then finally stopped altogether. They wiped their eyes and smiled shyly at each other. No words needed to be said; they all knew they were in desperate need of release and were happy they had each other there for support.

In an effort to dispel some of the awkwardness that was creeping in, Sam reached up, touched his busted lip and winced. Steve caught his movement and was brought back to why he had barged into the room to begin with. He looked around and noticed Sui's absence, not even surprised he had missed her exit. Crossing his arms, he turned his attention to the only remaining member of the brawl and threw Sam a disappointed look.

"Sam?"

Sam sighed and answered, "Before you even start, she provoked me okay?"

Steve gave him a look of disbelief, and Sam rushed to prove his point. "She did! I was minding my own business, running on the treadmill over there, when out of nowhere this tendril of water snatched me away and dropped me at her feet. Then, she was saying all this horrible stuff about what she did to you and Wanda… I thought she-" He swallowed hard and stared at the ground, refusing to finish that train of thought.

Steve's stare softened as he finally understood Sam's emotional outburst. "You thought she had… killed us?" Sam nodded his head forlornly and avoided eye contact.

"We're fine, Sam." Wanda interjected. "Hell, we're more than fine. She's helping to train me in hand to hand combat. And Steve… She's helping Steve, too, in her own way." Steve gave her a confused look that Wanda promptly ignored.

"She's not here to hurt us, Sam. She just wants to help any way she can. Please, let her do that." Wanda stared at him for an extra second, making sure her words really sunk in. Sam nodded in concession and she smiled softly. Opening her arms, she enveloped him in another quick hug, kissing him on the cheek before she departed.

Both men watched her leave, then turned and regarded each other. "C'mon Sam, we need to get you patched up, and have a little talk with your healer while we're at it."

-PAGE BREAK-

"Hey, Sui?"

Sui sighed and tried easing herself off of the bed. Her head swam and as little black dots danced on the edge of her vision, she decided against it. With a groan, she collapsed back onto the bed, wincing as her rib protested to her movements.

"Come in, it's open!"

Steve opened the door tentatively and crept in, Sam in tow. They both stopped short when they noticed Sui's collapsed form on the bed. Sam had obviously done on a number on her. Her right eye was swollen shut, her mouth split and still bleeding, and by the way she held herself on the bed, it wasn't hard for Steve to guess she had some serious internal injuries as well.

"Hello there."

"Sui, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Jeez, goldilocks, relax. No one died, did they?"

"No, but you lied and said that two people did, one including me, so you better start explaining yourself."

Sui sighed and struggled to sit up again, this time gritting her teeth to stop from screaming out in pain. She waved away both men's attempt to help her, a small part of her shocked Sam even bothered to reach out to her. Once settled, she took a second to gather her thoughts before she spoke.

"Sam hates me and doesn't trust me."

Steve opened his mouth to protest but Sui rushed to finish before he could say anything.

"Don't lie Steve, he hasn't bothered trying to hide it. But I hadn't faulted him for it, and I still don't." She glanced at Sam before she continued. "But that wasn't all that was wrong with him and you know it." Steve cleared his throat and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Sam, you've been torturing yourself, you haven't been getting any sleep, drinking yourself into a stupor, and snapping at anyone who tried to help you." Sam gave Steve an apologetic look as Sui continued. "They all tried to show you their love and support, but that's not what you needed. You needed to work through your anger, you needed an outlet. I WAS your indirect one, so today, I provided you the enemy you needed to express all of your anger towards. Look me in the eye and tell me it didn't help."

She stared at Sam as he considered her words, but remained silent. His face was unreadable for a moment, and both Steve and Sui tensed in nervous anticipation. Finally his face broke out into a tentative smile and he reached his hand out. Grunting softly, Sui struggled for a moment before clasping his hand.

"Thank you." He met her stare, and Sui read the extent of his gratitude and his apologies from his eyes. She nodded her response and tried to smile softly but it turned into more of a grimace.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you go into the bathroom and get me a glass of water, please?"

"Sure." Steve went off into the adjourning room as Sui cajoled Sam to sit on the bed. He returned moments later with a glass of water and she gritted her teeth as she raised her hand, trying to gain control of the water.

"Sui, you should probably heal yourself first…"

"Oh shut up, golden boy. I'll be fine. Sam, I need you to close your eyes."

Sam stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes searching for any signs of foul play, but coming up empty. With a small nod, Sam closed his eyes and settled back. Sui breathed a sigh of relief as she encased her hand with the water and raised it to his eye, then his lip. As she healed him, she watched Steve from the corner of her eye. He had this soft look in his eyes, a small smile adorning his lips. She caught his attention, and tried to match his smile with as much success as before.

Finally done, Sui dissipated the water and collapsed back into the bed in exhaustion. Sam reached up and brushed his eye and lip in wonder, than smiled at her.

"Seriously, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it. Just don't try to kill me again, okay?" She winked with her good eye in a joking manner, inwardly pleased with herself when he chuckled lightly as he stood up.

"No promises." He smiled at her as he shook her hand again, nodded at Steve, then slipped out of her room, closing the door softly behind him.

Silence settled over the room, as the last two inhabitants regarded each other. Finally, Steve decided to break the silence.

"That was a nice thing you did for him."

"Yeah, I can be nice when I wanna be."

"But what I don't understand is that if you knew that's what he needed, why didn't you come to me about it? We could have made a plan and executed it in a way that ensured the safety of everyone-"

"Steve, look, I'm sorry I went over your head on this one. But it had to be this way. Sam would've known if you had tried to set him up. The whole point was to create a situation where he could act out all of his aggressions without thinking it was a fake fight."

"Okay, I get that, but it didn't have to be you."

Sui gave Steve an exasperated look. "Yes it did. It couldn't have been you, he would know it was false if he managed to hit you and didn't return his attacks. It definitely couldn't have been Wanda. She's like his little sister, he'd never hit her. And Vision? Please. The moment he actually connected a hit he'd know it was fake. He was projecting his anger onto me and had never seen my hand to hand combat. It had to be me."

Steve hung his head as he couldn't deny Sui's logic. Still didn't mean he had to like it, though.

"Well, did you need to let him get that many shots on you? Jesus, you look like he used you as his personal punching bag."

Sui chuckled as she struggled to sit up. "Thanks, Steve. You really know how to make a woman feel good." Her brow broke out in a sweat as she struggled, and this time accepted Steve's help.

"Do you need me to get you another glass of water?"

"I don't think it would do much in my case. I have a fractured jaw. A cracked rib, and I think there might be some internal bleeding. If you really wanna help, you'll go fill up the tub for me."

He nodded and rushed to finish his assigned task. Sui took the opportunity to attempt to stand. It took her three times, but after a few near falls and much expletives, she finally managed to stand on wobbly legs, and use the wall as support as she made her way to the bathroom.

Steve stepped back into the room, took one look at Sui's near collapsing form against the wall, and without a word gently lifted her up bridal style and brought her into the bathroom, placing her into the filled tub, clothes and all.

"You know Steve, this kind of seems like the beginning of a porno. Can you just say 'Is there anything else you'll be needing ma'am?'"

He screwed his face up in disgust as Sui chuckled lightly and settled herself more comfortably. She leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes, focusing what little energy she had left on healing the more serious injuries. Relief flooded her body as she found that her fractured rib hadn't punctured a lung. She grunted in pain when her rib began to heal; bone fractures always took tenfold as much energy and were never a pleasant experience.

Steve looked on worriedly as Sui gritted her teeth and winced in pain. He meant it when he said he understood why she had taken it upon herself to help Sam, but as he watched the obvious agony she was going through trying to repair the damage inflicted upon her, he couldn't help but feel some regret. It was because of his inability to help his friend that she was even in this position in the first place. A quiet hiss escaped Sui's lips, and his super hearing picked up the faintest crack of rib being reset. He ducked his head down and unconsciously clenched his fist.

"Stop it."

Steve looked up questioningly and regarded the woman in front of him.

"For some stupid ass reason, you're blaming yourself for my injuries. So stop it." Her eyes relayed understanding, but also a hard resolve that Steve instantly recognized from the time spent in the woman's company.

When he didn't answer right away, Sui sighed and shifted so she could better stare him down. She inwardly smiled when she realized that the constant sharp pain in her side was replaced with a dull and manageable ache. She settled herself and caught Steve's eyes, refusing to back down.

"I'm serious, Steve. Cut the bullshit. I understand your inner workings: as the leader, you can't help but feel responsible for your team and the people around you, but the weight of it all is too much for one person to bear. Even if that person has incredibly toned and medically enhanced shoulders that look like they were sculpted by Greek gods." She smiled when her joke was reward with a light chuckle from the man in front of her.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, please?"

It took a moment, but finally Steve nodded his head in agreement. Sui reached for his hand with a smirk on her face. "Pinkie promise?"

Steve smiled wide as he rolled his eyes and acquiesced her request. Satisfied, Sui turned back around continued using the last of her energy on healing her fractured jaw, knowing that would use the last of her chi. The bruises and cuts would have to heal on their own.

Steve watched on as she brought a blob of water to her jaw and it began to glow. Her voice pervaded the silence, and as she cracked another joke, Steve threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly. The past few weeks had been extremely stressful, but also the most he had laughed and smiled in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Yeah, I've had this done for forever but just haven't posted it. I know I know, just read and enjoy okay? :)/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strongspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Chapter 7/span/strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Steve shifted in his seat for the fourth time in five minutes as he tried hard to get a handle on his anxiety. Tony had called about an hour ago, scheduling a conference meeting with the ex-Avengers, T'Challa, and surprisingly enough, requested Sui's presence as well. When Steve told her about the meeting, Sui simply chuckled and explained that if the Tin Man requested an audience with the all powerful Oz, who was she to object? He inwardly smiled at the memory, but glancing to his left he noticed her playing with her earring, a habit he had began to associate with her being nervous or anxious. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But he really couldn't blame her. The only real reason Tony would call for such a formal meeting would be that he had more information on General Ross and their mind control serum. And Steve could only imagine what it must mean for her to hear about the people who not only murdered her teacher in cold blood, but also kidnapped her and threw her in a cage with the intent to experiment on her. He couldn't think of a more traumatic experience, and his heart went out to her. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The screen they were all sitting in front of flicked on, bringing Steve out of his thoughts and to the present. Tony's face appeared a second later, a grim look upon his features. His eyes surveyed his friends in front of him, before his eyes landed on Sui./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ms. Johnson, we haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I'm Tony Stark, but you can call me Tony."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sui stood up and took a deep breath before beginning. "Tony, please, call me Sui. And I know you have something of the utmost importance that you need to share but I'd just like to take a second and express how thoroughly grateful I am for your assistance in my rescue. Though I could never fully return the favor, I hope to prove my worth to both you and the team in any way I can."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tony's face shifted from one of shock to one of modesty as he replied, "Thank you, Sui, but you flatter me too much. All I did was alert the team of your situation, they did all the heavy lifting."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes, but they would have never known OF my situation if you hadn't had the foresight to monitor General Ross's movements after Steve freed your friends. So stop pulling the modest hero shtick and accept my thank you."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Steve coughed into his hand to hide his chuckle, but his teammates weren't so thoughtful. Sam and Vision smirked in amusement, while T'Challa and Wanda blatantly laughed good heartedly at Tony's surprised expression. Their laughter died down after a few moments and a silence fell over the room. Sui was still staring at the screen, an expectant vibe coming off of her in finally realized what she wanted and pushed through his confusion to remedy his mistake./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I- um, yeah uh, you're welcome?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Should be more of a statement than a question, but I'll accept that."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As she sat down, Steve watched her in amazement. Never in his life had he seen anyone able to leave Tony speechless, and the fact that she was able to do so within five minutes of meeting him made his already high respect for her increase even more./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tony cleared his throat and everyone's disposition shifted to a more serious tone./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So I've been trying to keep tabs on General Ross ever since the prison break, but I've had to be more careful. He's grown more paranoid, beefing up his security and tightening his circle. Of course his firewalls aren't anything that F.R.I.D.A.Y. and I can't handle, but we push too much and he'll know of my involvement, then game over./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've also combed through all of the data Steve managed to steal, and it's much of the same stuff I found before, except in more detail. I mean, Sui, they have everything on you from when and where you were born down to the time and date of when you went to the principal's office in fifth grade. They have your whole life in those files."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As Tony spoke, Steve glanced out of his peripherals and noticed Sui's clenched fists and tightened jaw. His ears also picked up a quiet sound from behind him and he looked just in time to see the water being drawn out from the plant in the back, an angry ball growing more and more agitated as Tony spoke. Without thinking he reached out and grabbed her hand, ignoring her surprised look as he stroked a calming pattern on the back of her hand. After a few seconds he watched as she physically relaxed into her chair, and he smiled when he heard the quiet splash of the water returning to the plant. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Even though his strategy had obviously worked, he continued to stroke her hand hesitantly, reasoning his actions with himself, '/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tony might say something else that might upset her, I might as well just keep on trying to keep her calm/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;".' He ignored how holding her hand sent little flutters to his heart, and how he wondered if she'd let him do it more often... His mind was wrenched out of it's fantasy when Sui's fist clenched involuntarily, and he instantly refocused on what Tony was discussing./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""... And because of this I think the safest thing to do is keep as low a profile as possible until the focus is taken off of Sui."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At this, Sui perked up and immediately moved to express her opinion./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lay low, that's the grand plan? To sit back and /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"hide/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"? Are you shitting me?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""There is no need for the language, Ms. Johnson. Tony has a point. Ross is using all of his available resources to find and capture you, we obviously cannot allow that. Safest option is to keep you in hiding until he either exhausted all avenues or receives the orders from higher up to cease." Vision added diplomatically./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sui shook her head and stood up, wrenching her hand from Steve's, immediately missing his touch and the quick look of loss on his face./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You think a man like Ross is going to just turn tail and run? He knows how to play the game, he'll be able to spin this in such a way his superiors won't even bother questioning him for years. Do you know how much damage he could do in that time?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A silence pervaded the room, and Sui took is as a sign to continue./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Tony said he has everything about me, how long do you think it'll take for him to begin 'interrogating' everyone I've ever come across? He'll go from any remaining family members I have down to the goddamn mailman. And he's not only immoral, but he is persistent, and that is a dangerous combination to have for a man in power. He will not be above torture to get what he wants out of these people. Countless innocents and their families will be subjected to his twisted mind and you want me to just sit back and let it happen?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well what else could you possibly do? We can't risk having Ross re-capture you. We don't even know what he has planned out for you, yet. Who knows the destruction he'll cause after he has you under his control."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So what, we balance the known risk right now for a hypothetical greater good? We know what he's going to do to those people and we just shrug and say their sacrifice will be worth it in the end? Any sacrifice like that should be the victim's choice, who the fuck are we to decide who gets to suffer and who doesn't?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"An uneasiness settled over the room as everyone avoided eye contact with each other. Sui scoffed at the lack of response she got and collapsed into her seat with a huff./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally, Steve decided to bite the bullet and he turned to regard the woman next to him./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What do you suggest we do, then?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She glanced at him warily and took a second to think before she replied. She knew exactly what she needed them to do, especially if she wanted to achieve her goal of avenging her teacher, she needed their help. But she also knew she couldn't seem too relieved to have them offer their assistance and run the risk of them getting suspicious./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"With this in mind, she answered, "We? What 'we'? I know what you guys plan to do and I ain't doing that, so I can handle it myself, thank you very much. Don't worry your pretty little blonde head about it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We know you can, no one has any doubt in our minds you can handle anything the world throws at you." He looked for confirmation from everyone else in the room, grinning at the nods of agreement he received, even from Tony. Sui glanced around as well, and sat straighter in her seat both with pride of their confidence in her abilities, and in anticipation for what she knew was coming next. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So with that being said, I'll repeat: what do you suggest we do, then?" Steve smirked as he waited patiently for her answer./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A twinge of guilt panged Sui's heart as she took in Steve's hopeful, if not slightly over confident, expression. She knew appealing to his sense of justice and right vs. wrong would yield the desired result, but that didn't make her feel any less ashamed of her actions. It's not that she didn't believe in what she said; she couldn't bear the thought of anyone else suffering because of her. But she used this situation to further her own goals, and the thought sickened her./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She hid her inner turmoil with an appropriately frustrated glare she directed to him, then the rest of the group. Seeing the determination in their eyes both warmed her heart and broke it at the same time. Feigning disappointment in her defeat, she slumped her shoulders in mock secession and sighed resignedly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine, you guys can help, but you won't like it at all."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Try us." She rolled her eyes at Tony's challenge and continued./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, we have to let Ross capture me."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Roars of outrage and disbelief erupted in the room, each occupant sans Sui and Steve speaking their mind all at once. She waved her arms around frantically, trying to get some control back. Finally everyone quieted down enough for her to ask that they speak one at a time. They all nodded stiffly and waited a moment before Vision began./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I do not believe that allowing yourself to be taken is the safest option, Ms. Johnson. The probability of you not being harmed is dangerously low." Vision reasoned./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I have to agree with Vision. There's no need to place yourself on the sword for this, I'm sure there's some other way to solve the problem if we just sit back and consider all possible variables." T'Challa added./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Screw the different variables! Sui, you know what they're going to do to you and you think it's a great idea to just hand yourself over to them?" Wanda griped angrily, with Sam nodding in agreement./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Seriously, what the hell are you thinking?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Look I'm not saying we count our losses and throw in the towel. This is part of the plan."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Wanda opened her mouth to dispute but was cut off by Tony./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know what, let's hear her out, guys. She might be onto something."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thank you, Tony. Now, guys listen, okay? Did any of you see a research lab while in the prison facility?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They all shook their head no as she pressed on./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Exactly, so how exactly were they going to inject the serum into me if they didn't have any of the equipment they needed on site?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The realization dawned on Tony first. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""They didn't bring her there to do their experiments, that was just a holding cell until they could move her to the lab. Sui, you're a genius!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thanks for stating the obvious-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wait, so how does this tie in to allowing yourself to be captured?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like this: Sam, you remember when I allowed you to beat the crap outta me last month?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Allowed seems like a pretty strong word, I held my own."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Whatever helps you sleep at night but that's beside the point. I presented you with a story, with an experience, and you believed it wholeheartedly, even though in the end everything you did was exactly what I wanted in the first place."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, Manipulation 101, thanks so much for that."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, anytime." She smirked at him briefly before she continued. "Now, treat this situation the same way. If we allow Ross to think that he's got me and he's won…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then he could lead us right to this research facility!" Wanda exclaimed excitedly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thusly permitting us to destroy enough of it and cause enough media attention…" Sui prompted./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""To make Ross's superiors think twice about continuing to support his project for fear of the information being leaked, Sui, I could kiss you!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let's refrain from unwanted physical contact, huh Tony?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Everyone chatted excitedly as Sui surveyed the room, her smile faltering as she considered Steve's stony expression./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Steve, you okay? You've been awfully quiet-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Before she could finished, he abruptly stood up and whisked out of the room without so much as a look back. Everyone ceased talking as they watched his departure with confused expressions./span/p 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After a beat of silence, Tony asked the question that was burning on everyone's mind.

"What's wrong with the capsicle?"

"I don't know, but someone should go talk to him." Wanda responded, staring pointedly at Sui.

Sam caught on right away, adding, "Yeah, someone who's good at getting him to open up."

He elbowed Vision to get his attention and once attained, gestured with Wanda towards Sui. It took him a few moments, but finally Vision understood and made to continue the conversation in their wanted direction.

"Yes, someone who has increased the captain's smiling ratio exponentially since she has been here."

Sui narrowed her eyes suspiciously and considered the three people in front of her.

"What are you guys trying to say?"

Wanda threw up her hands exasperatedly and exclaimed, "Oh for the love of- We're saying out of all of us, you have the best chance of figuring out what's wrong with Steve. So go, make yourself useful."

"But what about Ross-"

"We'll strategize and fill you in later. Go, please."

Sui glared for a second, then sighed defeatedly. She got up and after quickly giving a few suggestions, made a hasty exit, choosing to ignore Sam's smirk and Wanda's knowing look.

"You know why he left, don't you Wanda?"

"I have a hunch, but that's a conversation that's way overdue for those two. Speaking of which, what's the status with Steve and a certain CIA agent?"

"As far as I know, he talked to her once we got here, told her they were better off being friends."

Wanda smiled wide as she replied, "Perfect."

-PAGE BREAK-

Where could he possibly have gone? Sui thought, pausing in the middle of the hallway, taking a few seconds to catch her breath. When she first left the conference room, she had ran to Steve's quarters, knowing deep down he wouldn't be there but daring to hope anyways. After expectantly coming up empty, she then tried the workout room, the kitchen, gardens, even the infirmary, all to no avail.

"Oh where, oh where has my golden boy, gone? Oh where, oh where could he be?" She sung softly, meandering aimlessly down the deserted halls. Distantly, she wondered where everyone was but remembered it was her nurse Faraji's birthday today; the party was probably still going strong.

King T'Challa was a very generous royal, and made sure to give his servant's whose birthday it was a few days off to spend with family, and throwing parties for those who didn't have any. Unfortunately, Faraji didn't have any known family members, so today they held a surprise shindig for her, much to Sui's delight. She smiled fondly as she remembered the look of sheer terror on Faraji's face when Sui came shooting down from the ceiling riding a magnificent wave, screaming SURPRISE at the top of her lungs.

She wandered into the least populated area of the palace, giving up on finding Steve anytime soon, but not wanting to return to the conference room and be forced to acknowledge Wanda and Sam's knowing glances.

As she passed an otherwise inconspicuous door, she heard faint whispers coming from the other side. She had never been inside the room, though she did remember a moment in Steve's tour when he had passed this door, claiming it was nothing but a broom closet. So either Steve had blatantly lied to her, in which case she couldn't wait to find him for she had more than a few choice words for him, or T'Challa had hired a very interesting character, one of which Sui planned of notifying him about as soon as possible.

Either way, she wanted to know what was behind that door, and so, she knocked a universally known pattern: _tap-tap- taptaptap…_ The whispering stopped, and it was silent for a moment before she heard some rustling as a figure approached the door from the other side. She waited another second, and when it seemed like the person was not going to answer, she loudly cleared her throat expectantly, pleased when after a moment, she heard the answering two taps. She heard the sounds of locks being disengaged and not a second later watched as the door was opened cautiously and a familiar blonde head popped out.

"Steve? For Christ's sake, I've been looking everywhere for you! What the hell are you doing in a broom closet, it's a bit snug for you isn't it?" She knew he had lied to her, and made sure to convey this fact through her knowing smirk, daring him to lie again.

Steve sighed exasperatedly, and opened the door fully to allow her entrance inside. Sui nodded her thanks and slipped past him into the room, pausing in utter shock.

"Broom closet my ass." She whispered, her eyes attempting to soak up as much information as possible.

The room was a state of the art laboratory that looked like it held a staff of close to twenty people. Desks were strewn haphazardly around the room, ranging from those in pristine condition, to those with a mountain of forms thrown carelessly across their surfaces. She appreciated the level of technology present, and noted that the room overall made the infirmary seem like a child's playground. She heard a quiet beeping and noticed a monitor next to a large metallic tube against the far right wall of the space. Sui took a few steps towards it before a hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Please. Don't."

Sui turned and regarded the man behind her with a curious tilt of her head.

"Why?"

His eyes dropped from hers and glared at the ground with a grimace.

"It doesn't concern you, that's why."

Sui flinched at the flippant tone he used and wrenched her wrist from his hand.

"90% of what happens here doesn't concern me, but that hasn't stopped you from sharing before."

"Yeah well this is different, contrary to what you believe not everything revolves around you."

"I never said anything ever did."

"Well you got a funny way of acting like it."

For the second time in the span of 30 seconds, Sui flinched as if she was physically struck. Steve has always been so open and gentle with her, being on the receiving end of his cold and detached comments was like throwing ice water on her face.

"Listen, I'm not here to fight, okay? Whatever, or whoever this is, it's none of my business, I get it. But that's not what I came here to talk about."

Steve scoffed and dismissively passed her as he made his way to the lounge chair stationed next to the tube. Sui shook off the hurt his actions caused and followed him hesitantly, stopping only a few feet away. She awkwardly crossed her arms and stared at him with a mixture of confusion, hope, and hesitant anticipation.

He settled himself in the chair warily and pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Okay, you found me. What do you want?"

Sui took a deep breath to calm her growing anger. She meant what she said, she didn't want to fight, but Steve's tone and overall attitude was really challenging her resolve.

"I want to know what happened to you in the conference room. You were fine one minute, and next thing we know you just stormed out without a look back. Everyone's worried about you."

"Well, thanks for the concern. Tell everyone I'm fine, never better. Now may I get back to what I was doing before you disturbed me?"

Staring in disbelief, Sui couldn't even fathom a witty response to Steve's obvious dismissal. She nodded her head and awkwardly made her way back towards the door. At the moment, two sides of her conscience were waging a war inside her head. On one hand, she could do what she should do, just shrug off Steve's behavior and leave. She knew she couldn't make deep emotional connections with these people if her plan was going to come to fruition without a hitch, and here was the one person she was the most worried about providing her with a perfect opportunity to keep him at arm's length. This is just what she needed.

Problem was, it was not what she wanted. Steve was the closest thing she had to a best friend in this place, and to think that he had a big enough problem with her that he was willing to shut her out so completely was beyond hurtful. She could spend the extra few seconds and consider why this caused so much pain, more so than if the others had done it, but she stopped that train of thought. All that mattered at the moment was Steve shutting her out, and no matter how practical it was to leave things as they were, she physically could not, and would not, do it.

With this in mind, Sui stopped with her hand on the handle of the door. She took a moment to process her thoughts before she spun around and stared Steve down.

"No."

Steve looked up when she addressed him and a look of surprise flitted across his face before it was replaced with a look of anger.

"What did you say?"

Clenching and unclenching her fists, Sui hesitated for only a second before she confidently strode further into the room, choosing a desk at random and plopping herself down unceremoniously.

"You know what I said ponyboy, I didn't stutter."

Steve gritted his teeth and glared at her, his anger rising further as he watched Sui make herself comfortable, going so far as to slip off her shoes and cross her legs on the desk.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, language Steve. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Sui…" Steve growled.

She raised her hands up in surrender and removed her legs from their resting place on the desk.

"Look, I didn't want to come in here and fight, but since you refuse to talk to me about whatever the hell has bit you in the ass, I guess I'm just going to have to sit here and annoy the shit out of you until you spill."

Steve rolled his eyes and refused to give any more attention to Sui's antics. He reached over to the nearest desk and snagged his sketch book, set on ignoring her presence until she got bored and left. But he never realized how formidable of an opponent he was facing, and within five minutes, he had a death grip on his book as his patience was almost at it's breaking point.

First she had hummed the American National Anthem off key while playing the percussion sections off beat with a pencil, then began rummaging through the drawers of the poor soul whose desk she was occupying at the moment. Finding a pack of gum, she squealed in delight and shoved two pieces in her mouth, making origami shapes out of the wrappers while blowing and popping bubbles as obnoxiously as she could.

After the tenth and loudest pop, Steve couldn't take it anymore.

"For the love of God can you STOP!" He roared.

She jumped slightly, but after the surprise wore off, she smirked smugly and popped her gum again, much to Steve's chagrin.

"I'd love to stop, Steve. But you gotta talk to me. Tell me what's going on with you."

When he didn't answer right away, she moved to pop her gum again before he sighed angrily and threw his sketch book to the floor.

"Fine, you got my attention, what the hell do you want to know?"

"I already told you: I want to know why in the hell you stormed out of that conference room like a madman, and don't you dare feed me some bullshit about how fine you are. You're a horrible liar."

He rubbed his hand over his face in anger and screamed, "It's suicidal!"

Confusion riddled Sui's face as she took in his admission. "What?"

Steve sprung up from his seat, and began to agitatedly pace the floor.

"Your stupid plan, it's ridiculous. You have no way of knowing what Ross is going to do you once he has you in his possession. You're unnecessarily putting yourself in harm's way, again."

"Unnecessarily? I'm not sitting by idly twiddling my thumbs while all those innocent people get hurt. I have to do this!"

"No you don't, there's has to be another way-"

"Another way?!" Sui quickly rose from her seat and blocked Steve's erratic pacing. "This is our only play right now, Steve. We have to stop Ross. It's only a matter of time before he moves his focus from me to another super. We have to find where his lab is and destroy it; this is the only way."

"See? This is what I'm talking about! It's the same thing like when we were in the prison, then with Sam. You keep going on these- 'badass' solo missions, risking your physical safety and for what?"

"For the betterment of others, you of all people should understand that Mr. I'm-going-to-crash-this-plane-so-that-millions-of-people-don't-die."

"That was different-"

"How in the hell was that any different?"

"I had no choice!"

"Well there was no choice back at that prison! If they had canceled that self-destruct sequence the rest of their reinforcements could have regrouped and captured and/or killed all of us. There was no choice with Sam, who knows if he would have been able to work through his anger and heal properly if I hadn't gotten involved. And now, we'll never get another opportunity to find where this lab is. Why can't you see how much sense all of this makes?!"

"Because...because-

"Because what?!"

"... I don't want to talk about this anymore." Steve whirled around and stormed out of the lab, slamming the door so hard behind him Sui could feel the vibrations from where she stood.

She took a second to calm herself down, now desperately wishing she had listened to her brain and high-tailed it out of there when she had the chance. As she moved to collect her shoes off the floor, she almost tripped over Steve's sketchbook, catching herself at the last second. Cursing his very existence, she crouched down to collect the forgotten article, wondering how she was going to return it without facing that infuriating man again.

When she happened a glance at the opened page, she froze, dread settling itself into her stomach. Staring back at her was the most beautiful portrait she's ever seen in her life, and yet she couldn't help the tears of grief that grew in her eyes. She hastened to flip the page, hoping against hope that this was a one time thing, a fluke, but to no avail. For page after page was filled with the same subject: her. They were like mini snapshots of her life at the palace, from when she was unconscious in the infirmary, to the most recent unfinished one, her standing in the conference room, furiously arguing her case.

A sob escaped her lips as she crumbled to the floor. The sketches brought out the thoughts she had been suppressing for weeks, the beauty and care placed into them too much for her to ignore. As she thought about it, the way in which he drew her portrait portrayed exactly how he treated her. He was always soft and gentle, never pressing her for information but presenting himself as a trustworthy confidant. He could look in her eyes and something in her would melt; no man has ever looked at her with such affection before. And then today in the conference room when he had grabbed her hand… She never wanted to let go. Heart fluttering, she could barely concentrate on what Tony was saying.

She now knew why it hurt her so much for him to cut her off the way that he did, why she couldn't just walk away when she knew she should. She loved him. She loved Steve Rogers.

Another sobbed escaped from her lips, this one relaying the hopelessness and fear she felt as her sudden epiphany hit home.


End file.
